A promising approach to treatment of chronic lung diseases is the intratracheal delivery of pluripotent stem cell derived alveolar-like macrophages (PSC-ALMs) into the injured lung to facilitate repair of damaged tissue. This treatment is hindered by the inability to assess where in the lung these cells end up. Here, hyperpolarized Xe-129 MRI paired with iron-labeled cells was used to demonstrate a proof-of-concept visualization of cells introduced in the lungs of rats. Signal hypointensities were observed at least one hour after instillation of approximately two million labeled cells in one rat, compared to instillation of control solutions in separate rats.
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