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Imaging Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy: Translations to Human Clinical Studies

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Abstract

Stem cell therapy promises to open exciting new options in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Although feasible and clinically safe, the in vivo behavior and integration of stem cell transplants still remain largely unknown. Thus, the development of innovative non-invasive imaging techniques capable of effectively tracking such therapy in vivo is vital for a more in-depth investigation into future clinical applications. Such imaging modalities will not only generate further insight into the mechanisms behind stem cell-based therapy, but also address some major concerns associated with translational cardiovascular stem cell therapy. In the present review, we summarize the principles underlying three major stem cell tracking methods: (1) radioactive labeling for positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging, (2) iron particle labeling for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and (3) reporter gene labeling for bioluminescence, fluorescence, MRI, SPECT, and PET imaging. We then discuss recent clinical studies that have utilized these modalities to gain biological insights into stem cell fate.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by Stanford VPUE (WYZ), German Research Foundation (ADE), NIH HL099117 (JCW), and NIH EB009689 (JCW).

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest disclosed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine (Division of Cardiology), Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Grant S140, Stanford, CA, 94305-5111, USA

    Wendy Y. Zhang, Antje D. Ebert & Joseph C. Wu

  2. Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Wendy Y. Zhang, Antje D. Ebert & Joseph C. Wu

  3. Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Wendy Y. Zhang, Antje D. Ebert & Joseph C. Wu

  4. Division of Cardiology, UC Irvine Medical Center, Orange, CA, USA

    Jagat Narula

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  1. Wendy Y. Zhang
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  4. Joseph C. Wu
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Correspondence to Joseph C. Wu.

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Zhang, W.Y., Ebert, A.D., Narula, J. et al. Imaging Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy: Translations to Human Clinical Studies. J. of Cardiovasc. Trans. Res. 4, 514–522 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-011-9281-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-011-9281-3

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