Application and limitations of chloromethyl-benzamidodialkylcarbocyanine for tracing cells used in bone tissue engineering

Bone tissue engineering has the potential to provide us with an autologous bone substitute. Despite extensive research to optimize the technique, little is known about the survival and function of the cells after implantation. To monitor the cells, in vivo labeling is the method of choice. In this study we investigated the use of the fluorescent membrane marker chloromethyl-benzamidodialkylcarbocyanine (CM-Dil) to label cells used in bone tissue engineering. When applying label concentrations up to 50 muM, cells could be labeled efficiently without negative effects on cell vitality, proliferation, or bone-forming capacity. Porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds were seeded with labeled cells, and up to 6 weeks after implantation in nude mice cells could be traced inside tissue-engineered bone. However, contrary to other reports concerning intramembranous labels, transfer of the label from labeled to unlabeled cells was detected. Transfer occurred both in vitro and in vivo between vital cells and between dead and living cells. To determine when in vivo label transfer happened, devitalized, labeled constructs were implanted for various time periods in nude mice. The presence of vital labeled cells inside these constructs, when evaluated at different implantation periods, indicated transfer of the label. Transfer occurred at 7 days postimplantation when 40 muM label was applied, whereas 10 muM labeled constructs showed transfer 10 days after implantation. These findings indicate that CM-Dil label is useful for in vivo tracing of cells for follow-up periods up to 10 days. This makes the label particularly useful for cell survival studies in tissue-engineered implants.