Abstract #4059

Longitudinal Follow Up of Pancreatic Islets by MRI Using Labeling with Magnetoliposomes

Ashwini Ketkar-Atre¹, Karim Louchami², Ting Yin¹, Tom Struys¹, Willy Malaisse², Uwe Himmelreich³

¹KULeuven Campus Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Vlaams Brabant, Belgium; ²Laboratory of Experimental Hormonology- CP 626, Universit Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; ³KU Leuven, Leuven, Vlaams Brabant, Belgium

Pancreatic islet (PIs) transplantation is one of the promising therapies for type 1 diabetes. In order to determine the fate of PIs post transplantation it is necessary to track them with non invasive imaging. In order to visualize PIs with high resolution MRI, they have been labeled with commercially available contrast agents and magnetoliposomes (MLs). We have shown that labeling with MLs can be achieved more rapidly (4h) compared to other contrast agents (up to 72h), hereby reducing potential adverse effects on PIs functionality. Longitudinal in vivo monitoring was possible after PIs engraftment in rodents.