Stem cell therapy has immense potential in a variety of regenerative medicine applications. However, clinical stem cell therapy is severely limited by challenges in assessing the location and functional status of implanted cells in vivo. Thus, there is a great need for longitudinal, noninvasive stem cell monitoring. Here we introduce a multidisciplinary approach combining nanosensor-augmented stem cell labeling with ultrasound guided photoacoustic (US/PA) imaging for the spatial tracking and functional assessment of transplanted stem cell fate. Specifically, our nanosensor incorporates a peptide sequence that is selectively cleaved by caspase-3, the primary effector enzyme in mammalian cell apoptosis; this cleavage event causes labeled cells to show enhanced optical absorption in the first near-infrared (NIR) window. Optimization of labeling protocols and spectral characterization of the nanosensor in vitro showed a 2.4-fold increase in PA signal from labeled cells during apoptosis while simultaneously permitting cell localization. We then successfully tracked the location and apoptotic status of mesenchymal stem cells in a mouse hindlimb ischemia model for 2 weeks in vivo, demonstrating a 4.8-fold increase in PA signal and spectral slope changes in the first NIR window under proapoptotic (ischemic) conditions. We conclude that our nanosensor allows longitudinal, noninvasive, and nonionizing monitoring of stem cell location and apoptosis, which is a significant improvement over current end-point monitoring methods such as biopsies and histological staining of excised tissue.
Keywords: cell apoptosis; cell engineering; cell tracking; nanosensors; photoacoustic imaging; stem cells.