Imaging technologies that allow the non-invasive monitoring of stem cells in vivo play a vital role in cell-based regenerative therapies. Recently, much interest has been generated in reporter genes that enable simultaneous monitoring of the anatomical location and viability of cells using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Here, we investigate the efficacy of ferritin heavy chain-1 (Fth1) and transferrin receptor-1 (TfR1) as reporters for tracking mesenchymal stem cells. The overexpression of TfR1 was well tolerated by the cells but Fth1 was found to affect the cell’s iron homeostasis, leading to phenotypic changes in the absence of iron supplementation and an upregulation in transcript and protein levels of the cell’s endogenous transferrin receptor. Neither the sole overexpression of Fth1 nor TfR1 resulted in significant increases in intracellular iron content, although significant differences were seen when the two reporter genes were used in combination, in the presence of high concentrations of iron. The supplementation of the culture medium with iron sources was a more efficient means to obtain contrast than the use of reporter genes, where high levels of intracellular iron were reflected in transverse (T2) relaxation. The feasibility of imaging iron-supplemented cells by MRI is shown using a 3R-compliant chick embryo model.

Magnetic resonance (MR) reporter genes have the potential for tracking the biodistribution and fate of cells in vivo, thus allowing the safety, efficacy and mechanisms of action of cell‐based therapies to be comprehensively assessed. In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of the iron importer transferrin receptor‐1 (TfR1) as an MR reporter gene in the model cell line CHO‐K1. Overexpression of the TfR1 transgene led to a reduction in the levels of endogenous TfR1 mRNA, but to a 60‐fold increase in total TfR1 protein levels. Although the mRNA levels of ferritin heavy chain‐1 (Fth1) did not change, Fth1 protein levels increased 13‐fold. The concentration of intracellular iron increased significantly, even when cells were cultured in medium that was not supplemented with iron and the amount of iron in the extracellular environment was thus at physiological levels. However, we found that, by supplementing the cell culture medium with ferric citrate, a comparable degree of iron uptake and MR contrast could be achieved in control cells that did not express the TfR1 transgene. Sufficient MR contrast to enable the cells to be detected in vivo following their administration into the midbrain of chick embryos was obtained irrespective of the reporter gene. We conclude that TfR1 is not an effective reporter and that, to track the biodistribution of cells with MR imaging in the short term, it is sufficient to simply culture cells in the presence of ferric citrate. Copyright © 2016 The Authors Contrast Media & Molecular Imaging Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mainstream approaches that are currently used as anti-aging therapies primarily explore the senescence and epigenetic drift aging hallmarks and they are at two ends of the spectrum. While senolytic therapies include either the selective elimination of senescent cells or the disruption of their secretome with the use of drugs or natural compounds, cellular reprogramming uses genetic manipulation to revert cells all the way back to pluripotency. Here, we describe the progress that has been made on these therapies, while highlighting the major challenges involved. Moreover, based on recent findings elucidating the impact of mitotic shutdown and aneuploidy in cellular senescence, we discuss the modulation of mitotic competence as an alternative strategy to delay the hallmarks of aging. We propose that a regulated rise in mitotic competence of cells could circumvent certain limitations that are present in the senolytic and reprogramming approaches, by acting to decelerate senescence and possibly restore the epigenetic landscape.

Bacterial genes involved in the biomineralization of magnetic nanoparticles in magnetotactic bacteria have recently been proposed as reporters for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In such systems, the expression of the bacterial genes in mammalian cells purportedly leads to greater concentrations of intracellular iron or the biomineralization of iron oxides, thus leading to an enhancement in relaxation rate that is detectable via MRI. Here, we show that the constitutive expression of the magA gene from Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum is tolerated by human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells but induces a strong toxic effect in murine mesenchymal/stromal cells and kidney-derived stem cells, severely restricting its effective use as a reporter gene for stem cells. Although it has been suggested that magA is involved in iron transport, when expressed in HEK cells, it does not affect the transcription of endogenous genes related to iron homeostasis. Furthermore, the magA-induced enhancement in iron uptake in HEK cells is insignificant, suggesting this gene is a poor reporter even for cell types that can tolerate its expression. We suggest that the use of magA for stem cells should be approached with caution, and its efficacy as a reporter gene requires a careful assessment on a cell-by-cell basis.