In vivo tracking of transplanted stem cells has been a central aim of stem cell therapy. Although many tracking systems have been introduced, no method has yet been validated for clinical applications. We developed a novel sophisticated peptide (GV1001) that mimics hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) and analysed its ability to track and protect stem cells after transplantation. Ferrocenecarboxylic acid-conjugated GV1001 (Fe-GV1001) efficiently penetrated stem cells with no adverse effects. Moreover, Fe-GV1001 improved the viability, proliferation, and migration of stem cells under hypoxia. After Fe-GV1001-labelled stem cells were transplanted into the brains of rats after stroke, the labelled cells were easily tracked by MRI. Our findings indicate that Fe-GV1001 can be used for the in vivo tracking of stem cells after transplantation into the brain and can improve the efficacy of stem cell therapy by sustaining and enhancing stem cell characteristics under disease conditions.

体内追踪移植的干细胞一直是干细胞治疗的主要目标。尽管已引入许多跟踪系统，但尚未验证任何方法可用于临床应用。我们开发了模仿hTERT（人类端粒酶逆转录酶）的新型复杂肽（GV1001），并分析了其在移植后追踪和保护干细胞的能力。二茂铁羧酸共轭GV1001（Fe-GV1001）有效穿透干细胞，而没有不利影响。此外，Fe-GV1001在缺氧条件下改善了干细胞的活力，增殖和迁移。将Fe-GV1001标记的干细胞移植到中风后的大鼠脑中后，可以通过MRI轻松跟踪标记的细胞。