Abstract #0520

Development of an in Vivo Functional Assay to Monitor the Effect of SPIO Labeling on Murine Dendritic Cells Used for Cell Therapy in MRI

Richard Tavar¹, Gopal Varma¹, Pervinder Sagoo², Yakup Tanriver², Tobias Schaeffter¹, Robert Lechler², Giovanna Lombardi², Greg Mullen¹

¹Division of Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK; ²Department of Nephrology and Transplantation, King's College London, London, UK

Dendritic cells are currently being studied as a therapy for both cancer and transplant tolerance. Non-invasive imaging of dendritic cells labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxides (SPIOs) migrating to lymph nodes allows for the monitoring of an efficient cellular therapy. Here, to test the funtion of labeled versus unlabeled cells, the development of an in vivo funtional assay is described, as well as serial imaging of SPIO labeled dendritic cells migrating to the popliteal lymph node.