Effects of intracellular magnetic labeling of stem cells with superparamagnetic iron oxide on the differentiation capability into hepatocyte-like cells

Objective To investigate the effects of intracellular magnetic labeling of stem cells with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) on the cell differentiation capability into hepatocyte-like cells.Methods Adiposederived stem cells (ADSCs) were obtained from the inguinal fat tissue of Sprague-Dawley rats.ADSCs were labeled with co-incubation of poly-l-lysine (PLL) and SPIO (25 μg/mL).Intracellular iron uptake was analyzed qualitatively with light microscopy.The viability of ADSCs was evaluated with trypan blue staining.SPIO-labeled and unlabled ADSCs were subjected to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells with hepatocyte growth factor (HGF).Liver marker gene such as albumin (ALB) was analyzed by RT-PCR.The cell viability between the labeled cell group and unlabeled cell group adopted two independent sample t-Test.Results Light microscopy results revealed intracytoplasmic iron uptake and nearly 100％ of cell labeling efficiency.SPIO-labeled ADSCs had an unaltered viability as compared with unlabeled ADSCs (P＞0.05).After induction,glycogen storage within cytoplasm can be found in the two group on 14 d and 21 d,and the cells with positive staining increased on day 21.The two groups both express the ALB on 14 d and 21 d,which expressed higher on 21 d.Conclusion Intracellular magnetic labeling with SPIO did not affect the viability and capability of ADSCs to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells. Key words: Superparamagnetic iron oxide; Adipose-derived stem cells; Hepatocyte-like cells; Labeling