Stem Cells and Labeling for Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to degeneration of locomotor and sensory neurons. Stem cell therapy offers strategies for spinal cord repair, promoting remyelination and axonal elongation. However, optimized protocols and safety assays are needed before clinical application. Tracking stem cells after transplantation is crucial for determining their migration and viability. Cell tracking can be done by labeling cells with molecular probes or reporter genes. Each stem cell tracking modality has its own advantages and disadvantages, in terms of biocompatibility of molecular probes, detection thresholds, safety, and cost-effectiveness.

• 1
  Stem cells can promote remyelination, neurite outgrowth, and axonal elongation after spinal cord injury.
• 2
  SPIO labeling is used for stem cell tracking after SCI in preclinical and clinical studies, allowing detection of cell migration towards the injury site using MRI.
• 3
  Reporter gene imaging, while requiring genomic manipulation, is an effective way to stably integrate markers into cells for PET and BLI imaging, allowing for serial transgene expression.