Abstract #1881
Imaging of islet transplantation in a pre-clinical animal model using an FDA-approved contrast agent: in vitro studies.
Pratt J, Evgenov N, Medarova Z, Pantazopoulos P, Bonner-Weir S, Moore A
Massachusetts General Hospital
Pancreatic islet transplantation is a powerful clinical tool to treat Type 1 diabetes patients. In order to monitor transplantation efficiency and graft survival, reliable non-invasive imaging methods are critically needed. We used an FDA-approved commercially available contrast agent FERIDEX to label human pancreatic islets for in vivo detection after islet transplantation. Our results showed that labeling was not cytotoxic to human islets and did not affect their insulin secretion. Furthermore, our phantom studies indicated that human islets could be labeled with FERIDEX in amounts sufficient for their detection by MR imaging.
