Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, PR China.
Mol Med Rep. 2012 Feb;5(2):317-20. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2011.637. Epub 2011 Oct 18.
Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation provides a novel strategy for the treatment of human disease. MR imaging (MRI) is able to track transplanted stem cells labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) in vivo. However, the effect of SPIO upon labeled MSCs remains unclear on a cellular level. In this study, the biological characteristics of rat MSCs labeled with home-synthesized SPIO particles were evaluated. The MSCs were isolated from the bone marrow of 5 adult Sprague-Dawley rats and labeled with home-synthesized SPIO particles at a final iron concentration of 20 µg/ml. Labeled MSCs were confirmed with Prussian blue staining and transmission electron microscopy. The quantity of iron per cell was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Cell viability, proliferation, membranous antigen and multiple differentiation ability were compared between labeled and unlabeled MSCs. The rat MSCs were effectively labeled and the labeling efficiency was approximately 100%, as revealed by Prussian blue staining. The SPIO particles located in the endosomal vesicles of the MSCs were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. No significant differences were observed in cell viability, proliferation, membranous antigen and multiple differentiation ability between the labeled and unlabeled MSCs (P>0.05). In conclusion, MSCs are able to be effectively labeled by home-synthesized SPIO particles without influencing their main biological characteristics.
间充质干细胞（MSC）移植为人类疾病的治疗提供了一种新策略。磁共振成像（MRI）能够在体内追踪用超顺磁性氧化铁（SPIO）标记的移植干细胞。然而，SPIO 对标记的 MSC 的影响在细胞水平上尚不清楚。在这项研究中，评估了用自制 SPIO 颗粒标记的大鼠 MSC 的生物学特性。从 5 只成年 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠的骨髓中分离 MSC，并以终铁浓度为 20 µg/ml 的自制 SPIO 颗粒进行标记。通过普鲁士蓝染色和透射电子显微镜证实了标记的 MSC。通过原子吸收光谱法确定每个细胞的铁含量。比较了标记和未标记的 MSC 之间的细胞活力、增殖、膜抗原和多向分化能力。通过普鲁士蓝染色证实，大鼠 MSC 被有效标记，标记效率约为 100%。透射电子显微镜证实 SPIO 颗粒位于 MSC 的内体小泡中。标记和未标记的 MSC 之间的细胞活力、增殖、膜抗原和多向分化能力没有显著差异（P>0.05）。总之，MSC 可以用自制的 SPIO 颗粒有效标记，而不会影响其主要生物学特性。
