Dual mms6/magA gene expression, improves contrast in cancer cells for MR imaging

Motivation: MRI reporter genes can be used for cancer diagnosis; however, MRI reporter genes are often cytotoxic. Goal(s): Our goal was to use a combination of magnetotactic bacterial genes (mms6 and magA) to design a reporter gene for enhanced MRI contrast. Approach: Wild type and transgenic cancer cell lines containing the designed reporter gene were imaged and R2 was mapped for each cell type. Results: Cells containing the dual gene demonstrated higher R2 values and iron uptake. Impact: Our demonstration that the dual expression genes provide enhanced contrast with minimal toxicity to the cells, indicates dual expression of mms6 and magA is a suitable MRI reporter gene that can be incorporated for cancer diagnostics.