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Updated: Nov 18, 2025

Murine Lymphocyte Labeling by 64Cu-Antibody Receptor Targeting for In Vivo Cell Trafficking by PET/CT
Published on: April 29, 2017
Immune cell labelling and tracking: implications for adoptive cell transfer therapies
Filippo Galli1, Michela Varani2, Chiara Lauri2
1Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Medical-Surgical Sciences and of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy. filippo.galli@hotmail.com.
Background:
The understanding of the role of different immune cell subsets that infiltrate tumors can help researchers in developing new targeted immunotherapies to reactivate or reprogram them against cancer. In addition to conventional drugs, new cell-based therapies, like adoptive cell transfer, proved to be successful in humans. Indeed, after the approval of anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy, researchers are trying to extend this approach to other cancer or cell types.
Main Body:
This review focuses on the different approaches to non-invasively monitor the biodistribution, trafficking and fate of immune therapeutic cells, evaluating their efficacy at preclinical and clinical stages. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for published articles on the imaging of cell tracking in humans and preclinical models.
Conclusion:
Labelling specific immune cell subtypes with specific radiopharmaceuticals, contrast agents or optical probes can elucidate new biological mechanisms or predict therapeutic outcome of adoptive cell transfer therapies. To date, no technique is considered the gold standard to image immune cells in adoptive cell transfer therapies.

