Hepatic organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) as MRI reporter proteins
Woldring DR., Belecciu T., Garland LR., Amalfitano A., Shapiro EM.
Narrative Review, published in Npj Imaging (2026) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
- Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
- Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
- Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
- Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
- Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.
- Study type
- Narrative Review
- Journal
- Npj Imaging (2026)
- Reported sample size
- —
- Source database
- Europe PMC
- PMID
- 41501234
- PMCID
- PMC12780193
- DOI
- 10.1038/s44303-025-00132-9
Abstract (original English)
Organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) are hepatic membrane transporters responsible for the uptake of numerous endogenous compounds and drugs. Among these, OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 in humans, and their orthologs in other species, mediate the cellular uptake of clinically approved hepatospecific MRI contrast agents, rendering them suitable candidates for use as MRI reporter proteins. This review examines the structural biology, evolutionary divergence, and transport mechanisms of hepatic OATPs, with a focus on their capacity to serve as genetically encoded imaging reporters. We survey the uptake and imaging characteristics of clinically available and experimental contrast agents in species-specific contexts and detail how hepatic OATPs have been leveraged in preclinical models for tracking engineered cells in oncology, regenerative medicine, and immunotherapy. Special attention is given to the pioneering studies that established OATP1A1 and OATP1B3 as MRI reporter proteins, the challenges related to contrast dose and imaging timing, and the emerging solutions such as dual-reporter systems and dynamic imaging protocols. Compared to traditional labeling strategies like iron oxide nanoparticles, OATP-based reporters enable positive contrast on T1-weighted MRI, avoid signal ambiguity, and permit multimodal imaging using clinically approved probes. The integration of hepatic OAT
What this study does not prove
- • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
- • This is a narrative review: it collects no new patient data and does not systematically appraise evidence quality.
Evidence level
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
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