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Stem Cell Tracking Using Ultrasound

Detailed Technology Description

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*Abstract

BackgroundCurrently, cell therapies administered by intravenous, intra-arterial, and/or direct tissue injection are limited by the lack of clinically available imaging methods to detect the in vivo fate of the administered cells. There are many efforts underway to develop imaging strategies for stem cells in vivo, including radionuclide and MRI-based approaches. However, these approaches are limited by potential safety issues (e.g. radioactive exposure of stem cells, toxicity of iron particles used for MRI) and difficulty in serial tracking due to complex instrumentation and/or the requirement for repetitive radiation exposure. The absence of a reliable technology for in vivo tracking of delivered stem cells has limited the progress and conduct of clinical trials of stem cell therapy. A robust imaging technology for serial, non-invasive, in vivo assessment of stem cell fate after delivery in humans would be a powerful tool, both for pharmaceutical companies conducting trials of cell therapies, as well as for clinicians who would ultimately implement the imaging technology to guide clinical decision making. Furthermore, such an imaging technology would be expected to be useful in the research arena, giving new physiologic insights into stem cell trafficking that could inform the design of clinical therapeutic strategies for cell therapy.TechnologyInvestigators at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a method to track stem cells using ultrasound and microbubble contrast agent technology. This new method employs the biocompatibility and stability of acoustically active contrast agents made of biodegradable polymers like polylactide and its copolymers to label stem cells and to track them with clinical ultrasound. The general concept is that after incubation with stem cells, the polymer microbubbles are internalized by the stem cells so as to be detected by ultrasound in a living organism in real time. Since ultrasound is a portable, non-invasive technique with relatively simple instrumentation, this application should allow safe, serial, imaging of systemically injected stem cells at the bedside.Application1) Track the delivery of stem cells after administrationAdvantages1) Method is portable and non-invasive

*Principal Investigator

Name: Xucai Chen, Research Associate Professor of Medicine

Department: Med-Medicine

Name: Wenjin Cui

Department: Med-Medicine

Name: Andrew Fisher

Department: Med-Cardiovascular Institute

Name: Flordeliza Villanueva, Assistant Profeessor of Medicine

Department: Med-Medicine

Name: William Wagner, Assistant Professor of Surgery

Department: Med-Surgery

Name: Jianjun Wang

Department: Med-Medicine

Country/Region

USA