Molecular Imaging of Stem Cells

A reliablein vivoimaging method to localize transplanted cells and monitor their viability would enable a systematic investigation of cell therapy. Most stem cell transplantation studies have used immunohistological staining, which does not provide information about the migration of transplanted cellsin vivoin the same host. Molecular imaging visualizes targeted cells in a living host, which enables determining the biological processes occurring in transplanted stem cells. Molecular imaging with labeled nanoparticles provides the opportunity to monitor transplanted cells noninvasively without sacrifice and to repeatedly evaluate them. Among several molecular imaging techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides high resolution and sensitivity of transplanted cells. MRI is a powerful noninvasive imaging modality with excellent image resolution for studying cellular dynamics. Several types of nanoparticles including superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and magnetic nanoparticles have been used to magnetically label stem cells and monitor viability by MRI in the urologic field. This review focuses on the current role and limitations of MRI with labeled nanoparticles for tracking transplanted stem cells in urology.

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Molecular Imaging of Human Embryonic Stem Cells: Keeping an Eye on Differentiation, Tumorigenicity and Immunogenicity

Cell Cycle ◽

10.4161/cc.5.23.3533 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 5 (23) ◽

pp. 2748-2752 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Koen E.A. van der Bogt ◽

Rutger-Jan Swijnenburg ◽

Feng Cao ◽

Joseph C. Wu

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem Cells ◽

Molecular Imaging ◽

Human Embryonic Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem

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Molecular Imaging of Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Methods in Molecular Biology - Viral Applications of Green Fluorescent Protein ◽

10.1007/978-1-59745-559-6_2 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 13-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Kazim H. Narsinh ◽

Feng Cao ◽

Joseph C. Wu

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem Cells ◽

Molecular Imaging ◽

Human Embryonic Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem

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A Molecular Imaging Perspective on Cardiac Repair with Stem Cells

Handbook of Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy ◽

10.1142/9781848162570_0007 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 105-115

Author(s):

Kishore Bhakoo

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Molecular Imaging ◽

Cardiac Repair ◽

Imaging Perspective

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Tumorigenicity of pluripotent stem cells: biological insights from molecular imaging

Journal of The Royal Society Interface ◽

10.1098/rsif.2010.0353.focus ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 7 (suppl_6) ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Nigel G. Kooreman ◽

Joseph C. Wu

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Molecular Imaging ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Cell Types ◽

Cell Replacement Therapy ◽

Cell Replacement ◽

Induced Pluripotent ◽

Teratoma Formation

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have the ability (i) to duplicate indefinitely while maintaining pluripotency and (ii) to differentiate into cell types of all three embryonic germ layers. These two properties of ESCs and iPSCs make them potentially suitable for tissue engineering and cell replacement therapy for many different diseases, including Parkinson's disease, diabetes and heart disease. However, one critical obstacle in the clinical application of ESCs or iPSCs is the risk of teratoma formation. The emerging field of molecular imaging is allowing researchers to track transplanted ESCs or iPSCs in vivo , enabling early detection of teratomas.

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