Tracking Neural Stem Cells

Stanford, CA -

Scientific investigation of cellular therapy whether for regenerative purposes or for immune modulation (ie adoptive transfer of activated NK, LAK, or T cells) has always benefited from the ability to actually see where the implanted cells are going in an in vivo setting.

In a recent paper (Guzman et al. Long-term monitoring of transplanted human neural stem cells in developmental and pathological contexts with MRI. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jun 6) a novel method of labeling stem cells for in vivo tracking was described.

The authors generated CNS stem cells in the form of neurospheres, labelled them with magnetic nanoparticles and assessed in vitro and in vivo function. The labelling protocol did not affect abiity of cells to proliferate, differentiate, or repair injured tissue in immune suppressed mouse models.

Accordingly, the protocol described in the recent paper is likely to be valuable for clinical research in the area of cell therapy. This is of particular importance in neural stem cells which have now entered the clinic for treatment of Batten's disease.