Quantum dots (QDs) have favorable physical and photochemical properties. In this work, we used QDs fluorescent nanoprobes to follow the migration of inflammatory cells from local tissue to draining lymph node in inflammation resolution. Electric pulse stimulation was used to establish inflammation model in mouse tibialis anterior. QDs injected to inflammatory tissue were found to aggregate and endocytosed by inflammatory cells. While in the draining lymph node, QDs mainly distributed in the T cell area. TEM and confocal observation showed that most of QDs in the draining lymph node were located in the endosomes of monocytes/macrophages. Our work shows that QDs can be used as fluorescent probes to follow migration of cells especially phagocytic cells. Thus QDs may be explored in application in immunology research.
Animals ; Cell Movement ; Fluorescent Dyes ; Inflammation ; pathology ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Mice ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Nanoparticles ; Phagocytes ; pathology ; Quantum Dots ; Staining and Labeling ; methods