Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2021, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (31): 5025-5033.doi: 10.12307/2021.146

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In vivo track technique for mesenchymal stem cells: how to realize simultaneous tracing of distribution and survival

Li Ye1, 2, Yang Yukun1, 2, Zhu Xiangqing1, He Jie1, 2, Wang Jinxiang1, Wang Yanying1, Tian Chuan1, Pang Rongqing1, Pan Xinghua1   

  1. 1Cell Biological Therapy Center of 920th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of Chinese PLA, The Transfer Medicine Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy Technology of Yunnan Province, The Integrated Engineering Laboratory of Cell Biological Medicine of State and Regions, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China; 2Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650504, Yunnan Province, China
  • Received:2020-06-15 Revised:2020-06-19 Accepted:2020-07-31 Online:2021-11-08 Published:2021-04-25
  • Contact: Pan Xinghua, MD, Chief physician, Professor, Cell Biological Therapy Center of 920th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of Chinese PLA, The Transfer Medicine Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy Technology of Yunnan Province, The Integrated Engineering Laboratory of Cell Biological Medicine of State and Regions, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China
  • About author:Li Ye, Doctoral candidate, Cell Biological Therapy Center of 920th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of Chinese PLA, The Transfer Medicine Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy Technology of Yunnan Province, The Integrated Engineering Laboratory of Cell Biological Medicine of State and Regions, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China; Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650504, Yunnan Province, China
  • Supported by:
    the Major Science and Technology Special Plan of Yunnan Province, No. 2018ZF007 (to PXH); the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 31970515 (to PRQ)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Stem cell therapy has a broad application prospect for the development of new treatment strategies for many difficult diseases. Although the number of clinical trials of stem cell therapy has increased in the past few years, due to the low immunogenicity and high proliferation ability of stem cells, there may be a potential risk of malignant transformation in vivo. The safety and effectiveness of cell therapy can be determined by imaging.
OBJECTIVE: Detailed in vivo studies are needed to monitor the fate of transplanted cells, including their distribution, differentiation and lifespan. The development of non-invasive cell imaging techniques for real-time tracking of transplanted cells provides a powerful tool for determining the effectiveness of stem cell therapy. In this review, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of different imaging techniques used for stem cell labeling and tracing in the last 10 years. 
METHODS: Articles about non-invasive tracer technology of mesenchymal stem cells in PubMed database and CNKI database from January 2010 to March 2020 were searched with the English key words of “mesenchymal stem cell*, cell track*, molecular imaging” and the Chinese key words of “mesenchymal stem cells, transplantation, tracer”. The search literature types were not limited; obsolete and irrelevant studies were excluded. Finally, 92 articles were selected for review. 
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: At present, the molecular imaging techniques that can be used to trace stem cells in vivo mainly include optical imaging, magnetic resonance, nuclear medicine, ultrasound/photoacoustics, magnetic particle imaging, multimodal imaging and so on. The survival rate and long-term fate of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation are still in the exploratory stage. The emergence of the emergence of a variety of new multimodal contrast agents which are directly combined with indirect labeled imaging makes it possible to trace the distribution and survival of transplanted cells at the same time.

Key words: stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, cell therapy, stem cell transplantation, transfusion, in vivo track, molecular imaging multimodal, nanoparticles

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