Human amniotic fluid stem cells labeled with up-conversion nanoparticles for imaging-monitored repairing of acute lung injury

Human amniotic fluid stem (hAFS) cells have generated a great deal of excitement in cell-based therapies and regenerative medicine. Here, we examined the effect of hAFS cells labeled with dual-polymer-coated UCNP-PEG-PEI nanoparticles in a murine model of acute lung injury (ALI). We observed hAFS cells migration to the lung using highly sensitive in vivo upconversion luminescence (UCL) imaging. We demonstrated that hAFS cells remained viable and retained their ability to differentiate even after UCNP-PEG-PEI labeling. More importantly, hAFS cells displayed remarkable positive effects on ALI-damaged lung tissue repair compared with mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (mBMSCs), which include recovery of the integrity of alveolar-capillary membrane, attenuation of transepithelial leukocyte and neutrophil migration, and down-regulation of proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine expression. Our work highlights a promising role for imaging-guided hAFS cell-based therapy in ALI.