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Multimodal Imaging of Stem Cell Implantation in the Central Nervous System of Mice
Published on: June 13, 2012
Molecular imaging in stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury
Fahuan Song1, Mei Tian1, Hong Zhang1
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China ; Zhejiang University Medical PET Center, Zhejiang University, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China ; Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Zhejiang University, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China ; Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Imaging of Zhejiang Province, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China.
Abstract:
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious disease of the center nervous system (CNS). It is a devastating injury with sudden loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic function distal to the level of trauma and produces great personal and societal costs. Currently, there are no remarkable effective therapies for the treatment of SCI. Compared to traditional treatment methods, stem cell transplantation therapy holds potential for repair and functional plasticity after SCI. However, the mechanism of stem cell therapy for SCI remains largely unknown and obscure partly due to the lack of efficient stem cell trafficking methods. Molecular imaging technology including positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical imaging (i.e., bioluminescence imaging (BLI)) gives the hope to complete the knowledge concerning basic stem cell biology survival, migration, differentiation, and integration in real time when transplanted into damaged spinal cord. In this paper, we mainly review the molecular imaging technology in stem cell therapy for SCI.
