title: Design principles for noninvasive, longitudinal and quantitative cell tracking with nanoparticle-based CT imaging.
abstract: Contradictory results in clinical trials are preventing the advancement and implementation of cell-based therapy. To explain such results, there is a need to uncover the mystery regarding the fate of the transplanted cells. To answer this need, we developed a technique for noninvasive in vivo cell tracking, which uses gold nanoparticles as contrast agents for CT imaging. Herein, we investigate the design principles of this technique for intramuscular transplantation of therapeutic cells. Longitudinal studies were performed, displaying the ability to track cells over long periods of time. As few as 500 cells could be detected and a way to quantify the number of cells visualized by CT was demonstrated. Moreover, monitoring of cell functionality was demonstrated on a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This cell-tracking technology has the potential to become an essential tool in pre-clinical as well as clinical trials and to advance the future of cell therapy.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Rinat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meir
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel; Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Oshra
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Betzer
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Menachem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motiei
authors.affiliation: The Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Noam
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kronfeld
authors.affiliation: The Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel; Hermelin Brain Tumor Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Chaya
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brodie
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. Electronic address: rachela.popovtzer@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rachela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Popovtzer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058948:Cell Tracking; D003287:Contrast Media; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006046:Gold; D051379:Mice; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne; D053758:Nanoparticles; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D006046:Gold
keywords: Cell therapy; Cell tracking; Computed tomography; Imaging; Nanoparticles