Zirconium-89-Oxine Cell Tracking by PET Reveals Preferential Monocyte Recruitment to Cancer and Inflammation over Macrophages
<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Cell-based therapies have become increasingly important in the treatment of cancers and inflammatory diseases; however, therapies utilizing monocyte–macrophage lineage cells remain relatively underexplored. Non-invasive cell tracking allows a better understa...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Pharmaceuticals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/6/897 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850165138368233472 |
|---|---|
| author | Sho Koyasu Hannah A. Minor Kingsley O. Asiedu Peter L. Choyke Noriko Sato |
| author_facet | Sho Koyasu Hannah A. Minor Kingsley O. Asiedu Peter L. Choyke Noriko Sato |
| author_sort | Sho Koyasu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background/Objectives:</b> Cell-based therapies have become increasingly important in the treatment of cancers and inflammatory diseases; however, therapies utilizing monocyte–macrophage lineage cells remain relatively underexplored. Non-invasive cell tracking allows a better understanding of the fate of such cells, which is essential for leveraging their therapeutic potential. Here, we employed a Zirconium-89 (<sup>89</sup>Zr)-oxine cell labeling method to compare the trafficking of monocytes and macrophages in vivo. <b>Methods:</b> Mouse bone marrow-derived monocytes and macrophages were each labeled with <sup>89</sup>Zr-oxine and evaluated for their viability, radioactivity retention, chemotaxis, and phagocytic function in vitro. Labeled cells were intravenously administered to healthy mice and to murine models of granuloma and syngeneic tumors. Cell migration was monitored using microPET/CT, while cell recruitment to the lesions was further assessed via ex vivo biodistribution and flow cytometry. <b>Results:</b> Labeled cells exhibited similar survival and proliferation to unlabeled cells for up to 7 days in culture. While both maintained phagocytic function, monocytes showed higher CCL2-driven chemotaxis compared to macrophages. <sup>89</sup>Zr-oxine PET revealed initial cell accumulation in the lungs, followed by their homing to the liver and spleen within 2–24 h, persisting through the 5-day observation period. Notably, monocytes trafficked to the liver and spleen more rapidly than macrophages. In both inflammation and cancer models, monocytes demonstrated higher accumulation at the lesion sites compared to macrophages. <b>Conclusions:</b> This study demonstrates the usefulness of <sup>89</sup>Zr-oxine PET in tracking monocyte–macrophage lineage cells, highlighting their distinct migration patterns and providing insights that could advance monocyte-centered cell therapies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-be4f35083f05461f9beb51319f0bf39e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1424-8247 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmaceuticals |
| spelling | doaj-art-be4f35083f05461f9beb51319f0bf39e2025-08-20T02:21:49ZengMDPI AGPharmaceuticals1424-82472025-06-0118689710.3390/ph18060897Zirconium-89-Oxine Cell Tracking by PET Reveals Preferential Monocyte Recruitment to Cancer and Inflammation over MacrophagesSho Koyasu0Hannah A. Minor1Kingsley O. Asiedu2Peter L. Choyke3Noriko Sato4Molecular Imaging Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USAMolecular Imaging Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USAMolecular Imaging Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USAMolecular Imaging Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USAMolecular Imaging Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Cell-based therapies have become increasingly important in the treatment of cancers and inflammatory diseases; however, therapies utilizing monocyte–macrophage lineage cells remain relatively underexplored. Non-invasive cell tracking allows a better understanding of the fate of such cells, which is essential for leveraging their therapeutic potential. Here, we employed a Zirconium-89 (<sup>89</sup>Zr)-oxine cell labeling method to compare the trafficking of monocytes and macrophages in vivo. <b>Methods:</b> Mouse bone marrow-derived monocytes and macrophages were each labeled with <sup>89</sup>Zr-oxine and evaluated for their viability, radioactivity retention, chemotaxis, and phagocytic function in vitro. Labeled cells were intravenously administered to healthy mice and to murine models of granuloma and syngeneic tumors. Cell migration was monitored using microPET/CT, while cell recruitment to the lesions was further assessed via ex vivo biodistribution and flow cytometry. <b>Results:</b> Labeled cells exhibited similar survival and proliferation to unlabeled cells for up to 7 days in culture. While both maintained phagocytic function, monocytes showed higher CCL2-driven chemotaxis compared to macrophages. <sup>89</sup>Zr-oxine PET revealed initial cell accumulation in the lungs, followed by their homing to the liver and spleen within 2–24 h, persisting through the 5-day observation period. Notably, monocytes trafficked to the liver and spleen more rapidly than macrophages. In both inflammation and cancer models, monocytes demonstrated higher accumulation at the lesion sites compared to macrophages. <b>Conclusions:</b> This study demonstrates the usefulness of <sup>89</sup>Zr-oxine PET in tracking monocyte–macrophage lineage cells, highlighting their distinct migration patterns and providing insights that could advance monocyte-centered cell therapies.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/6/897monocytemacrophagecell tracking<sup>89</sup>Zr-oxinepositron emission tomographycell-based therapy |
| spellingShingle | Sho Koyasu Hannah A. Minor Kingsley O. Asiedu Peter L. Choyke Noriko Sato Zirconium-89-Oxine Cell Tracking by PET Reveals Preferential Monocyte Recruitment to Cancer and Inflammation over Macrophages Pharmaceuticals monocyte macrophage cell tracking <sup>89</sup>Zr-oxine positron emission tomography cell-based therapy |
| title | Zirconium-89-Oxine Cell Tracking by PET Reveals Preferential Monocyte Recruitment to Cancer and Inflammation over Macrophages |
| title_full | Zirconium-89-Oxine Cell Tracking by PET Reveals Preferential Monocyte Recruitment to Cancer and Inflammation over Macrophages |
| title_fullStr | Zirconium-89-Oxine Cell Tracking by PET Reveals Preferential Monocyte Recruitment to Cancer and Inflammation over Macrophages |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zirconium-89-Oxine Cell Tracking by PET Reveals Preferential Monocyte Recruitment to Cancer and Inflammation over Macrophages |
| title_short | Zirconium-89-Oxine Cell Tracking by PET Reveals Preferential Monocyte Recruitment to Cancer and Inflammation over Macrophages |
| title_sort | zirconium 89 oxine cell tracking by pet reveals preferential monocyte recruitment to cancer and inflammation over macrophages |
| topic | monocyte macrophage cell tracking <sup>89</sup>Zr-oxine positron emission tomography cell-based therapy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/6/897 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shokoyasu zirconium89oxinecelltrackingbypetrevealspreferentialmonocyterecruitmenttocancerandinflammationovermacrophages AT hannahaminor zirconium89oxinecelltrackingbypetrevealspreferentialmonocyterecruitmenttocancerandinflammationovermacrophages AT kingsleyoasiedu zirconium89oxinecelltrackingbypetrevealspreferentialmonocyterecruitmenttocancerandinflammationovermacrophages AT peterlchoyke zirconium89oxinecelltrackingbypetrevealspreferentialmonocyterecruitmenttocancerandinflammationovermacrophages AT norikosato zirconium89oxinecelltrackingbypetrevealspreferentialmonocyterecruitmenttocancerandinflammationovermacrophages |