New MRI method tracks transplanted heart stem cells for months

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes can form new heart muscle and integrate with existing tissue. However, many transplanted cells do not survive in clinical trials, and researchers currently lack reliable tools to monitor transplanted cells over long periods inside the body. Existing imaging methods either work only in small animals, or rely on labels that fade or produce misleading signals as cells divide or interact with the immune system.

"Tracking therapeutic cells inside the living body has been a scientific endeavour for decades," says Cheng.

"The gap in the field, however, has been a failure to visualize surviving cells without losing signal beyond a few days or weeks, and with sufficient signal. Our goal is to address these critical gaps. We want to visualize and spatially map therapeutic cells as long as they are alive, wherever they are in the body."

The researchers then transplanted the engineered cardiomyocytes into the left ventricular heart muscle of immunodeficient rats, including animals with heart injury. Using MRI scanners, the team tracked the cells over eight weeks.

Source:

University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

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