Background
Stem cell therapies appear promising for treating certain neurodegenerative disorders and molecular imaging
Conclusions
These new findings may be useful in future preclinical applications developing cell-based treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.
Methods
Some of the advantages of BLI compared to other imaging methods used to track progenitor/stem cells include its sensitivity and specificity, low background signal and ability to distinguish surviving grafts from rejected ones over the long term while the blood-brain barrier remains intact. Conclusions: These new findings may be useful in future preclinical applications developing cell-based treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.
Results
We show that hNPC(Luc2) are detectable in the rat striatum. Furthermore, we demonstrate that using this tracking method, surviving grafts can be detected in vivo for up to 12 weeks, while those that were rejected do not produce bioluminescence signal. We also demonstrate the ability to discern hNPC(Luc2) contralateral migration. Comparison with existing methods: Some of the advantages of BLI compared to other imaging methods used to track progenitor/stem cells include its sensitivity and specificity, low background signal and ability to distinguish surviving grafts from rejected ones over the long term while the blood-brain barrier remains intact. Conclusions: These new findings may be useful in future preclinical applications developing cell-based treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.