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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Labeling Stem Cells with Fluorescent Dyes for non-invasive Detection with Optical Imaging
Published on: April 2, 2008
Labeling human mesenchymal stem cells with fluorescent contrast agents: the biological impact
Sophie E Boddington1, Elizabeth J Sutton, Tobias D Henning
1Department of Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Sophie.Boddington@radiology.ucsf.edu
Purpose:
This study aims to determine the effect of human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) labeling with the fluorescent dye DiD and the iron oxide nanoparticle ferucarbotran on chondrogenesis.
Procedures:
hMSCs were labeled with DiD alone or with DiD and ferucarbotran (DiD/ferucarbotran). hMSCs underwent confocal microscopy, optical imaging (OI), and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Chondrogenesis was induced by transforming growth factor-b and confirmed by histopathology and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) production. Data of labeled and unlabeled hMSCs were compared with a t test.
Results:
Cellular uptake of DiD and ferucarbotran was confirmed with confocal microscopy. DiD labeling caused a significant fluorescence on OI, and ferucarbotran labeling caused a significant T2* effect on MR images. Compared to nonlabeled controls, progenies of labeled MSCs exhibited similar chondrocyte morphology after chondrogenic differentiation, but the labeled cells demonstrated significantly reduced GAG production (p < 0.05).
Conclusion:
DiD and DiD/ferucarbotran labeling of hMSC does not interfere with cell viability or morphologic differentiation into chondrocytes, but labeled cells exhibit significantly less GAG production compared to unlabeled cells.
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