In vitro labeling of human embryonic stem cells for magnetic resonance imaging

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) have demonstrated the ability to restore the injured myocardium. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as one of the predominant imaging modalities to assess the restoration of the injured myocardium. Furthermore, ex-vivo labeling agents, such as iron-oxide nanoparticles, have been employed to track and localize the transplanted stem cells. However, this method does not monitor a fundamental cellular biology property regarding the viability of transplanted cells. It has been known that manganese chloride (MnCl(2)) enters the cells via voltage-gated calcium (Ca(2+)) channels when the cells are biologically active, and accumulates intracellularly to generate T(1) shortening effect. Therefore, we suggest that manganese-guided MRI can be useful to monitor cell viability after the transplantation of hESC into the myocardium. In this video, we will show how to label hESC with MnCl(2) and how those cells can be clearly seen by using MRI in vitro. At the same time, biological activity of Ca(2+)-channels will be modulated utilizing both Ca(2+)-channel agonist and antagonist to evaluate concomitant signal changes.