Research Article In Vivo Tracking of Murine Adipose Tissue-DerivedMultipotent Adult Stem Cells and Ex Vivo Cross-Validation

Copyright © 2013 Chiara Garrovo et al.is is an open access article distributed under theCreative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Stem cells are characterized by the ability to renew themselves and to differentiate into specialized cell types, while stem cell therapy is believed to treat a number of different human diseases through either cell regeneration or paracrine effects. Herein, an in vivo and ex vivo near infrared time domain (NIR TD) optical imaging study was undertaken to evaluate the migratory ability of murine adipose tissue-derived multipotent adult stem cells [mAT-MASC] aer intramuscular injection in mice. In vivoNIR TD optical imaging data analysis showed a migration of DiD-labelled mAT-MASC in the leg opposite the injection site, which was con�rmed by a �bered confocal microendoscopy system. Ex vivoNIR TD optical imaging results showed a systemic distribution of labelled cells. Considering a potential microenvironmental contamination, a cross-validation study by multimodality approaches was followed: mAT-MASC were isolated from male mice expressing constitutively eGFP, which was detectable using techniques of immuno�uorescence and qPCR. �-chromosome positive cells, injected into wild-type female recipients, were detected by FISH