Molecular imaging of stem cell therapies in ischemic stroke

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, lacking effective approaches to restore neurological functions in clinical practice. Stem cell therapies for ischemic stroke show great potential in neural regeneration, neuroprotection, microenvironment regulation, and neural network reconstruction. Stem cells including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), embryogenic stem cells (ESCs), induced pluripotential stem cells (iPSCs), neural stem cells (NSCs), et al., have been widely investigated in preclinical and clinical research, to treat ischemic stroke through different pathways. Benefiting from various imaging agents with specificity and sensitivity to the target, molecular imaging can facilitate the exploration of underling in vivo mechanisms of stem cell therapies for ischemic stroke, with multiple imaging modalities and techniques. Both direct in vitro labeling with imaging agents and indirect labeling through imaging reporter genes have been developed to label grafted stem cells and tracking their behaviors in vivo. And molecular imaging can further evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of stem cells in ischemic stroke from molecular level, providing comprehensive information combined with structural and functional imaging. With the advantages and contribution of molecular imaging, stem cell therapies for ischemic stroke can be greatly promoted for clinical translation from the laboratory to clinical practice.