Noninvasive cell-tracking methods.

Abstract

Cell-based therapies, such as adoptive immunotherapy and stem-cell therapy, have received considerable attention as novel therapeutics in oncological research and clinical practice. The development of effective therapeutic strategies using tumor-targeted cells requires the ability to determine in vivo the location, distribution, and long-term viability of the therapeutic cell populations as well as their biological fate with respect to cell activation and differentiation. In conjunction with various noninvasive imaging modalities, cell-labeling methods, such as exogenous labeling or transfection with a reporter gene, allow visualization of labeled cells in vivo in real time, as well as monitoring and quantifying cell accumulation and function. Such cell-tracking methods also have an important role in basic cancer research, where they serve to elucidate novel biological mechanisms. In this Review, we describe the basic principles of cell-tracking methods, explain various approaches to cell tracking, and highlight recent examples for the application of such methods in animals and humans.

• Authors: Moritz F Kircher, Sanjiv S Gambhir, Jan Grimm
• Journal: Nature reviews. Clinical oncology (Nat Rev Clin Oncol) Vol. 8 Issue 11 Pg. 677-88 (Sep 27 2011) ISSN: 1759-4782 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 21946842 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Contrast Media
• Radiopharmaceuticals
• Gadolinium

Topics

• Animals
• Cell Movement
• Cell Tracking (methods)
• Contrast Media
• Dendritic Cells (transplantation)
• Gadolinium
• Genes, Reporter
• Humans
• Immunotherapy, Adoptive
• Luminescent Measurements
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Mice
• Mice, Transgenic
• Microscopy, Fluorescence
• Models, Animal
• Nanoparticles
• Neoplasms (therapy)
• Positron-Emission Tomography
• Radiopharmaceuticals