Karin Montet-Abou1, Jean-Luc Daire1, Jean-Noel Hyacinthe1, Francois Mach2, Alke Petri-Fink3, Heinrich Hofmann3, Denis R. Morel4, Jean-Paul Vallee1, Xavier Montet1
1Radiology, Geneva University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland; 2Cardiology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland; 3Laboratory of Powder Technology, EPFL, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland; 4Anesthesiological Investigation Unit, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
Inflammatory cells are involved in numerous pathologies, including myocardial infarction. In the case of myocardial infarction the majority of the infiltrating cells are monocytes/macrophages. This study demonstrates that monocytes/macrophages can be loaded in vivo by a simple intravenous injection of fluorescent superparamagnetic iron oxide and then tracked, in the same animal, in a model of ischemia-reperfusion leading to myocardial infarct.