Multimodal Imaging-Guided Stem Cell Ocular Treatment.
Van Phuc NguyenAthanasios J KaroukisWei QianLisheng ChenNirosha D PereraDongshan YangQitao ZhangJosh ZheJessica HenryBing LiuWei ZhangAbigail T FahimXueding WangYannis M PaulusPublished in: ACS nano (2024)
Stem cell therapies are gaining traction as promising treatments for a variety of degenerative conditions. Both clinical and preclinical studies of regenerative medicine are hampered by the lack of technologies that can evaluate the migration and behavior of stem cells post-transplantation. This study proposes an innovative method to longitudinally image in vivo human-induced pluripotent stem cells differentiated to retinal pigment epithelium (hiPSC-RPE) cells by multimodal photoacoustic microscopy, optical coherence tomography, and fluorescence imaging powered by ultraminiature chain-like gold nanoparticle cluster (GNC) nanosensors. The GNC exhibits an optical absorption peak in the near-infrared regime, and the 7-8 nm size in diameter after disassembly enables renal excretion and improved safety as well as biocompatibility. In a clinically relevant rabbit model, GNC-labeled hiPSC-RPE cells migrated to RPE degeneration areas and regenerated damaged tissues. The hiPSC-RPE cells' distribution and migration were noninvasively, longitudinally monitored for 6 months with exceptional sensitivity and spatial resolution. This advanced platform for cellular imaging has the potential to enhance regenerative cell-based therapies.
Keyphrases
- stem cells
- induced apoptosis
- fluorescence imaging
- cell therapy
- high resolution
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- cell cycle arrest
- optical coherence tomography
- photodynamic therapy
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- endothelial cells
- oxidative stress
- high throughput
- optic nerve
- cell death
- single cell
- signaling pathway
- gene expression
- risk assessment
- chronic pain
- machine learning
- climate change
- pet imaging
- bone marrow