Molecular imaging in stem cell-based therapies of cardiac diseases

Labeling strategies for stem cell imaging. In vitro labeling strategies including PET with 18F-FDG (a glucose analog, which is taken up through the glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT1) into cell), SPECT with 111In-oxine or 99mTc-HMPAO (via passive diffusion into the cell) or MRI with SPIOs coated with transfection agents (allowing SPIOs stably maintained in cellular endosomes). Reporter gene imaging is based on reporter genes (vectors) transduced into stem cells, and followed by translation of mRNA and encoding to reporter protein, which processes specific affinity to an imaging reporter probe. Transplanted cells can be detected using PET, SPECT or MRI reporter probes.148