Tracking Inflammatory Cells Using Superparamagnetic Particles of Iron Oxide (SPIO) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Treatment of a wide range of diseases using stem cells and other types of cell appears promising. Following administration of cells it is often not clear where exactly the cells have gone and how many of them have reached the target site. This has been one of the challenges of developing these treatment options further. We have developed a method of labelling human cells with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) "contrast agent" which contains tiny iron filings. Following intravenous administration it is possible to see where the iron-labelled cells have gone using MRI scanning. We would like to do is to demonstrate that these cells behave normally and migrate to a site of inflammation. We plan to induce an area of inflammation in the forearm of healthy volunteers using the Mantoux test (a test of immunity against tuberculosis) before giving the labelled cells intravenously. After the Mantoux test we will give these volunteers iron-labelled cells and do MRI scans of their forearm to determine whether these cells can be seen accumulating in the target site.