Sugar Label
There is a separate scientific field dedicated to chemical and genetic labeling, which allows you to track where experimental cells move and whether they get to the intended place in the body. However, reporter genes and exogenous tags may require special production and regulatory processes. In addition, such labeling can change the properties of cells and be diluted during cell division. Scientists are focused on finding more effective ways to track cells damaged by multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative processes. Mesenchymal stem cells are used for such studies.
Jeff Boulte and his group from Johns Hopkins University have discovered that some stem cells have built-in indicators made of sugars, with which it is possible to track them without chemical or genetic tags after they are injected into the brain of mice. This discovery can be used in research on the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Bulte and his colleagues found that mesenchymal stem cells contain high levels of mannose, a monosaccharide that is an isomer of glucose and can be easily detected using a standard imaging technique based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The researchers suggested that since mammalian cells do not contain a lot of sugars, the injected stem cells, which naturally contain a lot of mannose, are potentially easy to spot against the background of brain tissue.
In the experiment, the group injected four types of human cells (300,000 each), including mesenchymal stem cells, into the brains of live mice. The researchers then used MRI to track clusters of injected cells over a two-week period.
They found that the MRI signal from mesenchymal stem cells was about 60% stronger than from other injected cell types, and it could be easily seen on MRI images within two weeks after injection. Postmortem fluorescent staining of brain tissue with mannose-specific lectin showed that an increase in the MRI signal corresponded to the presence of mannose.
Interestingly, the MRI signal was given only by living cells. This makes it possible to use the method not only to track their movement, but also to assess the survival of transplanted cells.
Bulte plans additional research to determine whether mannose molecules can be used to detect the differentiation of stem cells into other cell types.
Article by Y.Yuan et al. In vivo tracking of unlabelled mesenchymal stromal cells by mannose-weighted chemical exchange saturation transfer MRI is published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru Based on Johns Hopkins Medicine: Mouse Experiments Show How Sugar Molecules Can Be Used to Track Stem Cells.