Figures & data
Figure 1. Strategy to monitor the functionality of transplanted therapeutic cells in vivo by using imaging in patients. In our study, dendritic cell (DC) vaccines were cultured from patient blood and loaded with tumor antigen ex vivo before transfer to the patient. A control antigen, KLH, was added as a readily identifiable marker. Imaging labels, such as iron oxide for MRI or radiolabels for scintigraphy can also be added at this stage. Once transferred to the patient, the DCs activate antigen-specific lymphocytes in lymph nodes, resulting in their activation and proliferation. We showed that this antigen-specific proliferation of lymphocytes can be detected using [18F]FLT PET in melanoma patients,Citation5 and validated this using conventional blood tests on the control antigen KLH and histology on biopsy material. Thus, the functionality of the therapeutic cells can be monitored in vivo. We have shown previously that the localization and numbers of transferred cells can be monitored using MRI and scintigraphy.Citation2 In the figure, detected cells are encircled in green. This powerful multimodal imaging approach allows for comprehensive monitoring of therapeutic cells, and can readily be adapted to different cell types.Citation6
![Figure 1. Strategy to monitor the functionality of transplanted therapeutic cells in vivo by using imaging in patients. In our study, dendritic cell (DC) vaccines were cultured from patient blood and loaded with tumor antigen ex vivo before transfer to the patient. A control antigen, KLH, was added as a readily identifiable marker. Imaging labels, such as iron oxide for MRI or radiolabels for scintigraphy can also be added at this stage. Once transferred to the patient, the DCs activate antigen-specific lymphocytes in lymph nodes, resulting in their activation and proliferation. We showed that this antigen-specific proliferation of lymphocytes can be detected using [18F]FLT PET in melanoma patients,Citation5 and validated this using conventional blood tests on the control antigen KLH and histology on biopsy material. Thus, the functionality of the therapeutic cells can be monitored in vivo. We have shown previously that the localization and numbers of transferred cells can be monitored using MRI and scintigraphy.Citation2 In the figure, detected cells are encircled in green. This powerful multimodal imaging approach allows for comprehensive monitoring of therapeutic cells, and can readily be adapted to different cell types.Citation6](/cms/asset/678f4dab-9cb2-403e-8015-913fd1bebd3b/koni_a_10919533_f0001.gif)