A promising treatment method for type 1 diabetes mellitus is transplantation of pancreatic islets containing -cells. The aim of this study was to develop an MR technique to monitor the distribution and fate of transplanted pancreatic islets in an animal model. Twenty-five hundred purified and magnetically labeled islets were transplanted through the portal vein into the liver of experimental rats. The animals were scanned using a MR 4.7-T scanner. The labeled pancreatic islets were clearly visualized in the liver in both diabetic and healthy rats as hypointense areas on T 2 *-weighted MR images during the entire measurement period. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the presence of iron-oxide nanoparticles inside the cells of the pancreatic islets. A significant decrease in blood glucose levels in diabetic rats was observed; normal glycemia was reached 1 week after transplantation. This study, therefore, represents a promising step toward possible clinical application in human medicine.
MR imaging of iron-labeled pancreatic islets can be used for verification of the technical success of the transplantation procedure itself and for the detection of the decreasing relative islet mass due to rejection.
Pancreatic islets (PI) visualization was safe and successful in all recipients but was less efficient if labeling period was less than 16 hr. Significant decrease of islet spots occurred at week 1, suggesting early islet destruction or impaired engraftment. Afterward, the islet spot numbers remained stable for up to 24 weeks. Data show that MR detection of ferucarbotran-labeled islets enables their long-term noninvasive visualization and correlates with sustained C-peptide production.
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