Hepcidin-mediated Iron Regulation in P19 Cells is Detectable by Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging can be used to track cellular activities in the body using iron-based contrast agents. However, multiple intrinsic cellular iron handling mechanisms may also influence the detection of magnetic resonance (MR) contrast: a need to differentiate among those mechanisms exists. In hepcidin-mediated inflammation, for example, downregulation of iron export in monocytes and macrophages involves post-translational degradation of ferroportin. We examined the influence of hepcidin endocrine activity on iron regulation and MR transverse relaxation rates in multi-potent P19 cells, which display high iron import and export activities, similar to alternatively-activated macrophages. Iron import and export were examined in cultured P19 cells in the presence and absence of iron-supplemented medium, respectively. Western blots indicated the levels of transferrin receptor, ferroportin and ubiquitin in the presence and absence of extracellular hepcidin. Total cellular iron was measured by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry and correlated to transverse relaxation rates at 3 Tesla using a gelatin phantom. Under varying conditions of iron supplementation, the level of ferroportin in P19 cells responds to hepcidin regulation, consistent with degradation through a ubiquitin-mediated pathway. This response of P19 cells to hepcidin is similar to that of classically-activated macrophages. The correlation between total cellular iron content and MR transverse relaxation rates was different in hepcidin-treated and untreated P19 cells: slope, Pearson correlation coefficient and relaxation rate were all affected. These findings may provide a tool to non-invasively distinguish changes in endogenous iron contrast arising from hepcidin-ferroportin interactions, with potential utility in monitoring of different macrophage phenotypes involved in pro- and anti-inflammatory signaling. In addition, this work demonstrates that transverse relaxivity is not only influenced by the amount of cellular iron but also by its metabolism.

Magnetic resonance imaging of cells overexpressing MagA, an endogenous contrast agent for live cell imaging.

Molecular imaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may benefit from the ferrimagnetic properties of magnetosomes, membrane-enclosed iron biominerals whose formation in magnetotactic bacteria is encoded by multiple genes. One such gene is MagA, a putative iron transporter. We have examined expression of MagA in mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells and characterized their response to iron loading and cellular imaging by MRI. MagA expression augmented both Prussian blue staining and the elemental iron content of N2A cells, without altering cell proliferation, in cultures grown in the presence of iron supplements. Despite evidence for iron incorporation in both MagA and a variant, MagAE137V, only MagA expression produced intracellular contrast detectable by MRI at 11 Tesla. We used this stable expression system to model a new sequence for cellular imaging with MRI, using the difference between gradient and spin echo images to distinguish cells from artifacts in the field of view. Our results show that MagA activity in mammalian cells responds to iron supplementation and functions as a contrast agent that can be deactivated by a single point mutation. We conclude that MagA is a candidate MRI reporter gene that can exploit more fully the superior resolution of MRI in noninvasive medical imaging.

Basal and zinc-induced metallothionein in resistance to cadmium, cisplatin, zinc, and tertbutyl hydroperoxide: studies using MT knockout and antisense-downregulated MT in mammalian cells.

Metallothioneins (MTs) mediate resistance to metal and non-metal toxicants. To differentiate the role of MTs from other protective factors, resistance to zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), tertbutyl hydroperoxide (tBH), and cisplatin (CDDP) was compared in renal cell lines from wild type (MT-WT) and MT-1/MT-2 knockout (MT-KO) mice. MT-WT cells were more resistant to tBH than MT-KO cells but, unexpectedly, were more sensitive to Zn, Cd, and CDDP. Thus, basal expression of MT conferred resistance to tBH, but not to Cd or CDDP. Pretreatment with Zn increased MT expression and enhanced resistance to Cd and CDDP only in MT-WT cells, indicating a critical role for MT in this form of resistance. By contrast, Zn-pretreatment increased resistance to subsequent Zn exposure, but did not alter resistance to tBH, regardless of MT-status. Therefore, Zn-induced resistance to subsequent exposure to Zn (but not to Cd or CDDP) was mediated by non-MT factors, and neither Zn-induced MT nor other factors affected tBH sensitivity. Furthermore, antisense down-regulation of MT in human HeLa cells reduced basal MT levels and resistance to TBH, but not to Cd or CDDP. Therefore, basal MT alone can mediate resistance to TBH (but not to Cd or CDDP) in mouse and human cells. These data suggest that MT can mediate resistance to toxicants by different mechanisms, some of which correlate with the cellular content of MT protein. Moreover, resistance to some agents (Cd and CDDP) can be enhanced by inducing MT. Resistance to other agents (tBH) requires only basal (non-induced) MT levels.