Imaging approaches for the study of cell-based cardiac therapies

Nat Rev Cardiol. 2010 Feb;7(2):97-105. doi: 10.1038/nrcardio.2009.227. Epub 2009 Dec 22.

Abstract

Despite promising preclinical data, the treatment of cardiovascular diseases using embryonic, bone-marrow-derived, and skeletal myoblast stem cells has not yet come to fruition within mainstream clinical practice. Major obstacles in cardiac stem cell investigations include the ability to monitor cell engraftment and survival following implantation within the myocardium. Several cellular imaging modalities, including reporter gene and MRI-based tracking approaches, have emerged that provide the means to identify, localize, and monitor stem cells longitudinally in vivo following implantation. This Review will examine the various cardiac cellular tracking modalities, including the combinatorial use of several probes in multimodality imaging, with a focus on data from the past 5 years.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Contrast Media
  • Diagnostic Imaging* / methods
  • Ferrosoferric Oxide
  • Gadolinium
  • Genes, Reporter
  • Heart Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Heart Diseases / pathology
  • Heart Diseases / surgery*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Myocardium / pathology*
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Regeneration*
  • Stem Cell Transplantation*
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Contrast Media
  • Gadolinium
  • Ferrosoferric Oxide