Cobalt ferrite magnetic nanoparticles for tracing mesenchymal stem cells in tissue : a preliminary study

Večerić-Haler, Željka (author), Kojc, Nika (author), Wechtersbach, Karmen (author), Perše, Martina (author), Erman, Andreja (author)

Therapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is promising in many diseases. Evaluation of their efficacy depends on adequate follow-up of MSCs after transplantation. Several studies have shown that MSCs can be labeled and subsequently visualized with magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). We investigated the homing of MSCs labeled with magnetic cobalt ferrite NPs in experimentally induced acute kidney injury in mice. To explore the homing of MSCs after systemic infusion into mice, we developed a pre-infusion strategy for optimal tracing and identification of MSCs with polyacrylic acid-coated cobalt ferrite (CoFe$_2$O$_4$) NPs by light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in various organs of mice with cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury and control mice. By correlative microscopy, we detected MSCs labeled with NPs in the lungs, spleen, kidney, and intestine of cisplatin-treated mice and in the lungs and spleen of control mice. Our results confirm that labeling MSCs with metal NPs did not affect the ultrastructure of MSCs and their ability to settle in various organs. This study demonstrates the usefulness of cobalt ferrite NPs in ex vivo visualization of MSCs and offers correlative microscopy as a useful method in routine histopathology laboratories for tracing MSCs in paraffin-embedded tissue.

• Language: English
• Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells, metal nanoparticles, tissue injury, markers
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: 12 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 23, iss. 15, art. 8738
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-145234
• UDC: 616
• ISSN on article: 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms23158738
• COBISS.SI-ID: 121139203
• Publication date in RUL: 13.04.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of molecular sciences
• Shortened title: Int. j. mol. sci.
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1422-0067
• COBISS.SI-ID: 2779162

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: mezenhimske izvorne celice, kovinski nanodelci, poškodba tkiva