Fluorescent magnetic nanoparticle-labeled mesenchymal stem cells for targeted imaging and hyperthermia therapy of in vivo gastric cancer

How to find early gastric cancer cells in vivo is a great challenge for the diagnosis and therapy of gastric cancer. This study is aimed at investigating the feasibility of using fluorescent magnetic nanoparticle (FMNP)-labeled mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to realize targeted imaging and hyperthermia therapy of in vivo gastric cancer. The primary cultured mouse marrow MSCs were labeled with amino-modified FMNPs then intravenously injected into mouse model with subcutaneous gastric tumor, and then, the in vivo distribution of FMNP-labeled MSCs was observed by using fluorescence imaging system and magnetic resonance imaging system. After FMNP-labeled MSCs arrived in local tumor tissues, subcutaneous tumor tissues in nude mice were treated under external alternating magnetic field. The possible mechanism of MSCs targeting gastric cancer was investigated by using a micro-multiwell chemotaxis chamber assay. Results show that MSCs were labeled with FMNPs efficiently and kept stable fluorescent signal and magnetic properties within 14 days, FMNP-labeled MSCs could target and image in vivo gastric cancer cells after being intravenously injected for 14 days, FMNP-labeled MSCs could significantly inhibit the growth of in vivo gastric cancer because of hyperthermia effects, and CCL19/CCR7 and CXCL12/CXCR4 axis loops may play key roles in the targeting of MSCs to in vivo gastric cancer. In conclusion, FMNP-labeled MSCs could target in vivo gastric cancer cells and have great potential in applications such as imaging, diagnosis, and hyperthermia therapy of early gastric cancer in the near future.