In vivo near-infrared imaging for the tracking of systemically delivered mesenchymal stem cells: tropism for XXXX and biodistribution.

@entity1 @entity137 @entity1313 @entity5 @entity19 @entity16 @entity11
Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based gene therapy is a promising tool for the treatment of various @entity16 , including @entity1313 . However, the tracking of in vivo stem cell migration, distribution, and survival need to be defined for their clinical application. The systemic routes of stem cell delivery must be determined because direct intracerebral injection as a cure for @entity1313 is an invasive method. In this study, we show for the first time that near-infrared (NIR) imaging can reveal the distribution and @entity5 tropism of intravenously injected MSCs in an intracranial xenograft @entity11 model. MSCs were labeled with NIR fluorescent nanoparticles, and the effects of the NIR dye on cell proliferation and migratory capacity were evaluated in vitro. We investigated the @entity5 -targeting properties and tissue distribution of labeled MSCs introduced by intravenous injection and followed by in vivo imaging analysis, histological analysis, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We observed no @entity137 or change in the overall growth rate and characteristics of labeled MSCs compared with control MSCs. NIR fluorescent imaging showed the organ distribution and targeted @entity5 tropism of systemically injected @entity1 MSCs. A significant number of MSCs accumulated specifically at the @entity5 site in the @entity19 brain. These results suggest that NIR-based cell tracking is a potentially useful imaging technique to visualize cell survival, migration, and distribution for the application of MSC-mediated therapies in the treatment of @entity11 .
