Effects of MRI Contrast Agents on the Stem Cell Phenotype

The ultimate therapy for ischemic stroke is restoration of blood supply in the ischemic region and regeneration of lost neural cells. This might be achieved by transplanting cells that differentiate into vascular or neuronal cell types, or secrete trophic factors that enhance self-renewal, recruitment, long-term survival and functional integration of endogenous stem/progenitor cells. Experimental stroke models have been developed to determine potential beneficial effect of stem/progenitor cell based therapies. To follow the fate of grafted cells in vivo, a number of non-invasive imaging approaches have been developed. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a high resolution, clinically relevan…