| Summary: | Reporter gene–based labeling of cells with iron is an emerging method of providing magnetic resonance imaging contrast for long-term cell tracking and monitoring cellular activities. This report investigates 9.4 T nuclear magnetic resonance properties of mammalian cells overexpressing MagA, a putative iron transport protein from magnetotactic bacteria. MagA-expressing MDA-MB-435 cells were cultured in the presence and absence of iron supplementation and compared to the untransfected control. The relationship between the transverse relaxation rate ( R2 ) and interecho time was investigated using the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill sequence. This relationship was analyzed using a model based on water diffusion in weak magnetic field inhomogeneities (Jensen-Chandra model) as well as a fast-exchange model (Luz-Meiboom model). Increases in R2 with increasing interecho time were larger in the iron-supplemented, MagA-expressing cells compared to other cells. The dependence of R2 on interecho time in these iron-supplemented, MagA-expressing cells was better represented by the Jensen-Chandra model compared to the Luz-Meiboom model, whereas the Luz-Meiboom model performed better for the remaining cell types. Our findings provide an estimate of the distance scale of microscopic magnetic field variations in MagA-expressing cells, which is thought to be related to the size of iron-containing vesicles.
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