Metabolomics Reveals in vivo Significant Impact from Iron Oxide Nanoparticle-Labeled, Grafted Cells on the Host Organism

Verena Hoerr¹, Harry Parkes², Kathrin Halama¹, Sonja Mertsch¹, Volker Senner¹, Astrid Jeibmann¹, Cornelius Faber³

We investigated in vivo the effect of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) on C6 glioma cells with regards to growth behavior and metabolic pathogenesis by MRI and NMR metabolomics using statistical pattern recognition techniques. While tumor growth was similar for labeled and unlabeled tumors, 1H NMR spectra from urine of mice transplanted with iron labeled C6 glioma cells differed significantly from those of untreated cells and showed significant increase in trans-aconitate, N,N-dimethylglycine and 2-phenylproprionate. Our results indicate that IONPs may have significant impact on cell behavior in vivo which may result in metabolic changes superposing the pathological ones.