Quantitative effects of cell internalization of two types of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles at 4.7 T and 7 T

MRI coupled with the intravenous injection of ultrasmall superparamagnetic particles of iron oxides (USPIOs) is a promising tool for the study of neuroinflammation. Quantification of the approximate number of magnetically labelled macrophages may provide an effective and efficient method for monitoring inflammatory cells. The purpose of the present study was to characterise the relaxation properties of macrophages labelled with two types of USPIOs, at 4.7 T and 7 T. USPIO-labelled bone-marrow-derived macrophage phantoms were compared with phantoms of free dispersed USPIOs with the same global iron concentration, using multi-parametric (T1, T2 and T2*) quantitative MRI. The same protocol was then evaluated in living mice after intracerebral injection of iron-labelled macrophages vs free iron oxide. A linear relationship was observed among R1, R2 and R2* values and iron concentration in vitro at 4.7 T and at 7 T. At a given field, T1 and T2 relaxivities of both types of USPIOs decreased following internalisation into macrophages, while T2* relaxivities increased. There was fair overall agreement between the theoretical number of injected cells and the number estimated from T2 quantification and in vitro calibration curves, supporting the validity of the present in vitro calibration curves for in vivo investigation.