MRI assessment of blood outgrowth endothelial cell homing using cationic magnetoliposomes

The use of contrast material to stimulate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of migrating cells has become an important area of research. In the present study, cationic magnetoliposomes (MLs) were used to magnetically label human blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs) and follow their homing by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The biodistribution and functional integration capacity of BOECs, which have shown extensive promise as gene delivery vehicles, have thus far only rarely been investigated. MLs were avidly internalized by BOECs giving clear MRI contrast in phantom studies and the magnetic labeling did not affect cell proliferation, viability, morphology or homeostasis and elicited only minor reactive oxygen species levels. Intravenous injection of labeled BOECs was compared with injection of free MLs and unlabeled BOECs, resulting in homing of BOECs toward the liver and spleen, which was confirmed by histology. The MLs used offer great potential for cellular tracking studies by MRI when low levels of widely distributed cells are present. In particular, the use of these MLs will allow to evaluate the efficacy of new methods to enhance BOEC homing and integration to optimize their use as efficient vehicles for gene therapy.