title: Nanoparticle-based CT imaging technique for longitudinal and quantitative stem cell tracking within the brain: application in neuropsychiatric disorders.
abstract: A critical problem in the development and implementation of stem cell-based therapy is the lack of reliable, noninvasive means to image and trace the cells post-transplantation and evaluate their biodistribution, final fate, and functionality. In this study, we developed a gold nanoparticle-based CT imaging technique for longitudinal mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) tracking within the brain. We applied this technique for noninvasive monitoring of MSCs transplanted in a rat model for depression. Our research reveals that cell therapy is a potential approach for treating neuropsychiatric disorders. Our results, which demonstrate that cell migration could be detected as early as 24 h and up to one month post-transplantation, revealed that MSCs specifically navigated and homed to distinct depression-related brain regions. We further developed a noninvasive quantitative CT ruler, which can be used to determine the number of cells residing in a specific brain region, without tissue destruction or animal scarification. This technique may have a transformative effect on cellular therapy, both for basic research and clinical applications.
authors.affiliation: Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: Oshra
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Betzer
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shwartz
authors.forename: Menachem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motiei
authors.forename: Gila
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kazimirsky
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gispan
authors.forename: Efrat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Damti
authors.forename: Chaya
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brodie
authors.forename: Gal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yadid
authors.forename: Rachela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Popovtzer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D002465:Cell Movement; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods*; D003863:Depression / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D051381:Rats; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D006046:Gold
keywords: CT; Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs); cell tracking; depression disorders; gold nanoparticles