Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging: Cell Therapy

Dara L Kraitchman, VMD, PhD Johns Hopkins University Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science Baltimore, MD 21287 USA Introduction: Cardiovascular cell therapy trials, which were initiated over a decade ago using skeletal myoblasts,[1] are primarily targeted at adult stem cell lines. Initial trials with a limited number of patients have shown the safety of various cell lines and delivery routes, but they have largely failed to demonstrate efficacy in rebuilding the failing heart. [2-7] In addition, trials using similar administration routes or cell lines have shown vastly different results. While preclinical studies in a variety of species have demonstrated dramatic improvements in cardiac function, clinical results have failed to replicate these findings. Stem cell labeling may offer a method to better understand from a mechanistic point-of-view the role that stem cells are playing in cardiac repair to help design better cell therapy products as well as clinical trials.