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A single gene from bacteria could become a valuable tool for tracking cells' movement through the body via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), according to results of a study published in the June issue of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Mammalian cells can produce tiny magnetic nuggets after the introduction of a single gene from bacteria, scientists have found. The gene MagA could become a valuable tool for tracking cells' movement through the body via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), says Xiaoping Hu, PhD, professor of biomedical engineering at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"We have found a very simple way to make mammalian cells have a magnetic signature," says Hu, who is director of Emory's Biomedical Imaging Technology Center and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.

The results are published in the June issue of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

The gene MagA comes from magnetotactic bacteria, which can sense the Earth's magnetic field. It encodes a protein that transports dissolved iron across cell membranes. When put into human kidney cells, MagA triggered the accumulation of lumps of magnetite (iron oxide) a few nanometers wide, making the cells prominently visible under magnetic resonance imaging. Hu and his colleagues found that MagA appears to be nontoxic.

"MagA can be thought of as the equivalent of green fluorescent protein, but for magnetic resonance imaging," he says.

Scientists around the world use green fluorescent protein, originally found in jellyfish, to map the connections of the nervous system or follow the migration of stem cells around the body, for example. Hu says he anticipates that MagA could find similar applications, with the advantage that magnetic fields can penetrate tissues more easily than light.

The paper's first author is Omar Zurkiya, MD, PhD, with contributions from Anthony Chan, PhD, DVM, assistant research professor at Yerkes National Primate Research Center and assistant professor of human genetics in Emory University School of Medicine.

The research was funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health; the Georgia Research Alliance; and the Alzheimer Research Consortium.