MRI-based identification of undifferentiated cells: looking at the two faces of Janus

Abstract

Ciprian Tomuleasa,1,2 Ioan Stefan Florian,3 Cristian Berce,4 Alexandru Irimie,5,6 Ioana Berindan-Neagoe,2,7,9 Andrei Cucuianu1,8 1Department of Hematology, Ion Chiricuta Cancer Center, Cluj Napoca, Romania; 2Research Center for Functional Genomics and Translational Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, Romania; 3Department of Neurosurgery, 4Animal Facility, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, Romania; 5Department of Surgery, Ion Chiricuta Cancer Center, Cluj Napoca, Romania; 6Department of Oncology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, Romania; 7Department of Functional Genomics, The Oncology Institute Ion Chiricuta, Cluj Napoca, Romania; 8Department of Hematology, 9Department of Immunology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, RomaniaWe have read with great interest the paper of Ketkar-Atre et al,1 in which they have developed a new way of tracking stem cells after transplantation using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based method. They have proven using high resolution electron microscopy that various types of undifferentiated cells, also known as stem cells, have a differentiation uptake of iron oxide nanoparticles according to their size and proliferation rate. Due to its super-paramagnetic properties, iron oxide is slowly finding its way from the laboratory to the clinic. When combined with MRI, it can very efficiently track a stem cell in vivo, as in the case of autologous transplantation,2,3 but also for other conditions such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy.View original paper by Ketkar-Atre et al.