Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.
ACS Nano. 2014 Sep 23;8(9):9274-85. doi: 10.1021/nn503131h. Epub 2014 Aug 25.
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.
干细胞治疗在发展和应用中面临的一个关键问题是缺乏可靠的、非侵入性的方法来对移植后的细胞进行成像和追踪，并评估其生物分布、最终命运和功能。在这项研究中，我们开发了一种基于金纳米颗粒的 CT 成像技术，用于在大脑内进行间充质干细胞（MSC）的纵向追踪。我们应用这项技术对移植到抑郁大鼠模型中的 MSC 进行了非侵入性监测。我们的研究表明，细胞治疗是治疗神经精神疾病的一种有潜力的方法。我们的结果表明，细胞迁移早在移植后 24 小时就可以检测到，并且可以持续一个月，表明 MSC 可以特异性地迁移并归巢到与抑郁相关的特定脑区。我们进一步开发了一种非侵入性的定量 CT 标尺，可以用于确定特定脑区中存在的细胞数量，而无需进行组织破坏或动物处死。这项技术可能会对细胞治疗产生变革性的影响，无论是在基础研究还是临床应用方面。
