Abstract #0678

Pawelczyk E, Pandit S, Arbab A, Hu E, Frank J

Ferumoxides-protamine sulfate (FE-Pro) complexes are used for labeling of cells to monitor cell trafficking by in vivo MRI. The objective was to evaluate the effects of FE-Pro labeling on the expression of transferrin receptor and ferritin, proteins involved in iron transport and storage in mesenchymal stem cells, HeLa and primary macrophages. FE-Pro labeled cells were cultured from 1 to 4 weeks and evaluated for transferrin receptor and ferritin mRNA by RT-PCR, and protein levels by Western blot. FE-Pro labeling elicited physiological changes in iron metabolism/storage and showed that cells can process the increase in intracellular iron load.