Bioluminescence, MRI, and PET Imaging Modalities of Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Neurological Disorders

Neurological disorders and central nervous system (CNS) trauma are associated with cellular loss or dysfunction. The discovery of self-renewable neural stem cells (NSCs) and progenitor cells in the adult brain brought hope that the brain could repair itself after disease or injury. When dissected out of the brain and given the appropriate growth factors, NSCs are able to generate a large number of progeny and differentiate into specialized CNS cell types, including neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. However, contrary to tissues such as skin, gut, or blood, the endogenous CNS NSCs are unable to fully restore the cytoarchitecture and function of tissue damaged by neurodegeneration or injury. In acute CNS injuries, such as stroke or trauma, we predominantly see gliogenesis and the formation of glial scar at the site of injury. Consequently, cell loss leads to permanent functional deficits and characterizes most debilitating CNS diseases and injuries, including stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease (PD), Huntington’s disease, and others. Therefore, these neurodegenerative diseases and injuries are amenable to cell transplantation therapy. The rationale of neural transplantation therapy is to restore lost cells or to support dysfunctional cells through multiple mechanisms, including.