Lab of Molecular Imaging and Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cells have gained popularity as a potentially ideal cell candidate for regenerative medicine. To realize the full therapeutic potential of stem cell ttherapy, it will be necessary to develop novel assessments that can be used easily to determine the exact cellular state of the transplanted cells, which can be achieved by the application of molecular imaging. Please refer to: Circulation 2008,116:I46-54; J Am Coll Cardiol 2009, 53:1229-40.

With the ability of tropism towards tumors, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been considered to be attractive delivering vehicles for antitumor therapy. Molecular imaging allows noninvasive tracking of molecular or cellular processes in vivo, as well as evaluation of targeted cancer therapy. We recently exploited bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and near infrared (NIR) imaging to evaluate the interaction between human umbilical cord MSCs (hUC-MSCs) and pre-established tumor. Our results revealed that the transplanted hUC-MSCs played a critical antitumor role in vivo in a human breast cancer xenograft model by inhibiting tumor angiogenesis and inducing cell apoptosis. Our finding demonstrates that molecular imaging is a powerful tool in tracking cell delivery and tumor response to hUC-MSCs therapies as well as cellular and molecular processes in tumor, which will eventually benefit future preclinical studies in cancer diagnosis and therapy through accurate and sensitive imaging techniques. Please refer to: Biomaterials 2012, 33:5107-14; Biomaterials 2014, 35:5162-5170.

Differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into endothelial cells (hESC-ECs) has the potential to provide an unlimited source of cells for novel transplantation therapies of ischemic diseases by supporting angiogenesis and vasculogenesis.  Moreover, to fully understand the beneficial effects of stem cell therapy, investigators must be able to track the functional biology and physiology of transplanted cells in living subjects over time. Please refer to: Stem Cells 2008, 26:864-873; PLoS One 2009, 4:e8443

Continuous trafficking of bone marrow (BM) stem cells among the organs and circulation likely fill empty or damaged niches and contribute to the maintenance of normal organ function and restoring degraded tissues. Moreover, differentiation of BM cells into different adult cells also gave rise to the thought that the BM-derived stem cells population is critical for organs homeostasis and repair after injury via reprogramming the phenotype of hematopoietic stem cells to induce tissue renewal. This strategy may ultimately win over cell transplantation because of the challenges of timely production of sufficient quantities of autologous cells that meet all criteria necessary for safe and efficacious transplantation. Please refer to: Histol Histopathol 2012, 27:827-33.

The exact pathway leading to acute donor cell death following transplantation is still unknown, but absence of survival factors, disruption of cell-cell interaction coupled with loss of survival signals from matrix attachments, insufficient vascular supply and elaboration of inflammatory cytokines resulting from ischemia and/or cell death all probably play major roles. Please refer to: J Cell Biochem 2009, 106:194-9; J Am Coll Cardiol 2009, 53:1229-40.

Although a variety of cell imaging techniques have been validated in preclinical models, translation of cell-tracking technologies into clinical settings will require a substantial amount of preparation and perseverance.This project is funded by NSFC.