Ultrasensitive and multiplexed tracking of single cells using whole-body PET/CT.
Publication Year:
2024
PubMed ID:
38875333
Funding Grants:
Public Summary:
Stem-cell therapies rely on the ability of injected cells to localize in the appropriate environment after transplantation. Tracing cells after transplant in challenging. This study uses positron emission tomography (PET) along with a statistical tracking algorithm to trace the fate of cells injected into mice. The study establishes the potential of PET in offering unmatched insights into the earliest phases of cell trafficking in physiological and pathological processes and in cell-based therapies.
Scientific Abstract:
In vivo molecular imaging tools are crucially important for elucidating how cells move through complex biological systems; however, achieving single-cell sensitivity over the entire body remains challenging. Here, we report a highly sensitive and multiplexed approach for tracking upward of 20 single cells simultaneously in the same subject using positron emission tomography (PET). The method relies on a statistical tracking algorithm (PEPT-EM) to achieve a sensitivity of 4 becquerel per cell and a streamlined workflow to reliably label single cells with over 50 becquerel per cell of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). To demonstrate the potential of the method, we tracked the fate of more than 70 melanoma cells after intracardiac injection and found they primarily arrested in the small capillaries of the pulmonary, musculoskeletal, and digestive organ systems. This study bolsters the evolving potential of PET in offering unmatched insights into the earliest phases of cell trafficking in physiological and pathological processes and in cell-based therapies.
