Z Gastroenterol 2009; 47 - P127
DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1241377

In vivo tracking of 111In-Oxine labeled mesenchymal stem cells following infusion in patients with advanced cirrhosis

S Mirpour 1, A Gholamrezanezhad 1, M Saghari 1, R Malekzadeh 2
  • 1Research Institute for Nuclear Medicine; Medical Sciences/Tehran University, Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of
  • 2Digestive Diseases Research Center; Medical Sciences/Tehran University, Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of

Aims: Several animal studies and a few human studies suggest the beneficial role of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in liver cirrhosis. However, little is known about the fate of MSCs after infusion in cirrhotic patients. We evaluated stem cell bio-distribution after peripheral infusion of MSCs in cirrhotic patients.

Methods: After three passages of MSCs, the first patient (F, 62y/o) received a total of 270×106 cells and the second (M, 17y/o) received 290×106 cells. A specific activity of 0.67MBq/106cells and 0.71MBq/106cells were maintained for the injected labeled cells of the first and second patients, respectively. Planar whole body acquisitions (anterior/posterior projections) were acquired immediately following infusion as well as at 2h, 4h, 6h, 24h, 48h, 7th and 10th days after cell infusion.

Results: Immediately after I.V. infusion, the radioactivity (labeled MSCs) first accumulated in the lungs, and gradually shifted to the liver and spleen during the following hours to days. On SPECT images after 24 hours, the tracer distribution was homogenous throughout the liver and spleen. Region of Interest (ROI) analysis in the first patient showed that the percentage of the homing of the cells into the liver (following decay and background corrections and geometric mean calculation) increased from 2.8% at the 2nd-hour to 13.5% by the 10th-day post-infusion. The percentages of cells in the liver of the second patient were 0% at 2h and 13% at 10 days. There were no adverse effects after the infusion of the labeled cells within one month of follow up.

Conclusion: The infusion of MSCs labeled with 111In-Oxine through a peripheral vein is safe in cirrhosis. Cell labeling with 111In-Oxine is a suitable method for tracking MSC distribution after infusion.