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Imaging approaches for the study of cell-based cardiac therapies

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 7, pages 97–105 (2010)Cite this article

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.

Key Points

  • Two groups of contrast agents, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) and to a lesser degree the gadolinium chelates, enable detection of cardiac stem cell populations by MRI following implantation

  • Currently, clinical application of in vivo tracking using SPIOs or gadolinium chelates in cardiovascular disease has several limitations

  • The ability to correlate cell viability with signals from radionuclide probes and reporter genes is a major advantage, although in vivo use of reporter genes is currently limited to animal models

  • Multimodality approaches combining both iron-based and radionuclide probes offer increased sensitivity and specificity for stem cell localization and tracking

  • Protocols using MRI and reporter genes to monitor stem cell transplantation are being developed and translation to the clinic will require nonimmunogenic probes that are stably expressed after implantation

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Figure 1: ES-CPCs labeled with SPIOs.
Figure 2: Evaluation of noninfarcted mice.
Figure 3: PET-CT imaging of intramyocardial reporter gene expression.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the intramural research program of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and the Clinical Center at the NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute and Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Cardiovascular Health Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1030, New York, 10029-6574, NY, USA

    Joe F. Lau

  2. Animal MRI Core, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room 2N242, 10 Center Drive, MSC 1754, Bethesda, 20892-1754, MD, USA

    Stasia A. Anderson

  3. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, 97239-3098, OR, USA

    Eric Adler

  4. Frank Laboratory, Radiology and Imaging Sciences Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room B1N256, 10 Center Drive, MSC 1074, Bethesda, 20892-1074, MD, USA

    Joseph A. Frank

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Correspondence to Joseph A. Frank.

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Lau, J., Anderson, S., Adler, E. et al. Imaging approaches for the study of cell-based cardiac therapies. Nat Rev Cardiol 7, 97–105 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2009.227

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