MRI assessment of blood outgrowth endothelial cell homing using cationic magnetoliposomes.

The use of contrast material to stimulate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of migrating cells has become an important area of research. In the present study, cationic magnetoliposomes (MLs) were used to magnetically label human blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs) and follow their homing by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The biodistribution and functional integration capacity of BOECs, which have shown extensive promise as gene delivery vehicles, have thus far only rarely been investigated.