Human embryonic stem (ES) and germ (EG) cells have been isolated and can now be propagated
indefinitely in culture (
1
,
2
). They can be differentiated into most, if not all cell types, and offer unprecedented
therapeutic potential to replace or substitute defunct endogenous cell populations.
In order to track the biodistribution of transplanted cells in animals, including
their migration in vivo, cells can be given a tag before grafting. These tags currently include fluorescent
labels, thymidine analogues, and transfected reporter genes (e.g. LacZ or GFP), which
can be visualized using (immuno)histochemical procedures following tissue removal
at a particular given time point. The clinical use of progenitor and stem cells in
humans, however, will require a technique that can monitor their fate non-invasively
and repeatedly, in order to take a momentary “snapshot” assessment of the cellular
biodistribution at a particular given time point. As a result, magnetic resonance
(MR) tracking of magnetically labeled stem and progenitor cells is now emerging as
a new technology (
3
,
4
). A further implementation of this potentially powerful technique will greatly benefit
from the availability of magnetic probes that can render cells highly magnetic during
their normal expansion in culture (
5
).To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
References
- Embryonic stem cell lines derived from human blastocysts.Science. 1998; 282: 1145-1147
- Derivation of pluripotent stem cells horn cultured human primordial germ cells.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1998; 95: 13726-13731
- Neurotransplantation of magnetically labeled oligodendrocyte progenitors: MR tracking of cell migration and myelination.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1999; 96: 15256-15261
- Tat peptide-derivatized magnetic nanoparticles allow in vivo tracking and recovery of progenitor cells.Nature Biotechnol. 2000; 18: 410-414
- Molecular and cellular magnetic resonance contrast agents.in: Focus on Biotechnology. Vol. 7. Kluwer Academic Press, 2001: 197-211
- Synthesis and characterization of soluble iron oxide-dendrimer composites.Chem Mater. 2001; 13: 2201-2209
- Efficient transfer of genetic material into mammalian cells using Starburst polyamidoamine dendrimers.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1996; 93: 4897-4902
- Generation of oligodendroglial progenitors from neural stem cells.J Neurocytol. 1998; 27: 475-489
- Preparation of Cu nanoclusters within dendrimer templates.J Am Chem Soc. 1998; 120: 4877-4878
- Poly(amidoamine) dendrimer-templated nanocomposites. 1. Synthesis of zerovalent copper nanoclusters.J Am Chem Soc. 1998; 120: 7355-7356
- Homogeneous hydrogenation catalysis with monodisperse, dendrimer-encapsulated Pd and Pt nanoparticles.Angew Chem Int Ed. 1999; 38: 364-366
- Preparation and characterization of dendrimer-gold colloid nanocomposites.Anal Chem. 1999; 71: 256-258
- Insertion of a retrotransposon into the Mbp disrupts mRNA splicing and myelination in a new mutant rat.J Neurosci. 1999; 19: 3404-3413
Further reading
- In vitro gene delivery by degraded polyamidoamine dendrimers.Bioconj Chem. 1996; 7: 703-714
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© 2002 Acad Radiol. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
