ABSTRACT
Visualizing the presence and migration of transplanted cells has, until recently, almost exclusively been the domain of postmortem immunohistochemical studies. The use of magnetic resonance contrast agents to label cells prior to transplantation, however, has provided new vistas for the noninvasive serial in vivo study of transplanted cells. Some neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer's, which might benefit from widespread migration and early intervention, will benefit from cellular imaging of transplanted cells by providing correlations among cell survival, stagnation of neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline. Although the infusion of iron oxide-labeled bone marrow-derived endothelial precursors illustrates the integration of endothelial progenitor cells to the neovasculature supporting brain tumors, it fails to track the expansion of tumor cells. However, imaging of transplanted cells after myocardial infarction poses a further technical challenge, as the heart is constantly moving, and therefore requires a fast image acquisition protocol.
