Premium
Stem Cell‐Based Therapies for Ischemic Stroke: Preclinical Results and the Potential of Imaging‐Assisted Evaluation of Donor Cell Fate and Mechanisms of Brain Regeneration
Author(s) -
Gervois Pascal,
Wolfs Esther,
Ratajczak Jessica,
Dillen Yörg,
Vangansewinkel Tim,
Hilkens Petra,
Bronckaers Annelies,
Lambrichts Ivo,
Struys Tom
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
medicinal research reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.868
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1098-1128
pISSN - 0198-6325
DOI - 10.1002/med.21400
Subject(s) - medicine , induced pluripotent stem cell , mesenchymal stem cell , stroke (engine) , stem cell , neuroscience , disease , population , regeneration (biology) , stem cell therapy , bioinformatics , pathology , embryonic stem cell , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , environmental health , gene , engineering
Stroke is the second most common cause of death and is a major cause of permanent disability. Given the current demographic trend of an ageing population and associated increased risk, the prevalence of and socioeconomic burden caused by stroke will continue to rise. Current therapies are unable to sufficiently ameliorate the disease outcome and are not applicable to all patients. Therefore, strategies such as cell‐based therapies with mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) or induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) pave the way for new treatment options for stroke. These cells showed great preclinical promise despite the fact that the precise mechanism of action and the optimal administration route are unknown. To gain dynamic insights into the underlying repair processes after stem cell engraftment, noninvasive imaging modalities were developed to provide detailed spatial and functional information on the donor cell fate and host microenvironment. This review will focus on MSCs and iPSCs as types of widely used stem cell sources in current (bio)medical research and compare their efficacy and potential to ameliorate the disease outcome in animal stroke models. In addition, novel noninvasive imaging strategies allowing temporospatial in vivo tracking of transplanted cells and coinciding evaluation of neuronal repair following stroke will be discussed.