Transfection of clMagR/clCry4 imparts MR-T2 imaging contrast properties to living organisms (E. coli) in the presence of Fe3+ by endogenous formation of iron oxide nanoparticles

Nuan Li; Le Xue; Xiaoli Mai; Peng Wang; Chenzhuo Zhu; Xiaofeng Han; Yuanyuan Xie; Bin Wang; Yuqing Ge; Yewei Zhang; Jianfei Sun

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2023.1119356

Transfection of clMagR/clCry4 imparts MR-T₂ imaging contrast properties to living organisms (E. coli) in the presence of Fe³⁺ by endogenous formation of iron oxide nanoparticles

Front Mol Biosci. 2023 Feb 17:10:1119356. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1119356. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Nuan Li^{1

2}, Le Xue^{1

2}, Xiaoli Mai³, Peng Wang^{1

2

4}, Chenzhuo Zhu⁵, Xiaofeng Han¹, Yuanyuan Xie⁶, Bin Wang⁶, Yuqing Ge⁷, Yewei Zhang⁸, Jianfei Sun^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Sciences and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
² Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Biomaterials and Devices, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
³ Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
⁴ Department of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
⁵ Southeast University-Monash University Joint Graduate School, Southeast University, Suzhou, China.
⁶ Clinical Stem Cell Center, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
⁸ The Hepatopancreatobiliary Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.

Abstract

Rapid development of medical imaging, such as cellular tracking, has increased the demand for "live" contrast agents. This study provides the first experimental evidence demonstrating that transfection of the clMagR/clCry4 gene can impart magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T₂-contrast properties to living prokaryotic Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the presence of Fe³⁺ through the endogenous formation of iron oxide nanoparticles. The transfected clMagR/clCry4 gene markedly promoted uptake of exogenous iron by E. coli, achieving an intracellular co-precipitation condition and formation of iron oxide nanoparticles. This study will stimulate further exploration of the biological applications of clMagR/clCry4 in imaging studies.

Keywords: MRI; biosynthesis; clMagR/clCry4; contrast agent; iron oxide nanoparticles.

Grants and funding

This investigation was financially funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFA1201403) and the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (No. 20dz1101200).