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Advanced Neurology

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Tracking of transplanted neural stem cells

labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide in
ischemic stroke

1
1
Ying Bai , Zhongqiu Zhou , Fengchao Zang , Ling Shen , Yuan Zhang ,
1
1
2
1
Shuo Leng , Guangtian Wang *, and Bing Han *
2
3
1 Department of Pharmacology, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, School
of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
2 Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
3 School of Basic Medical Sciences, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
Abstract

Clinical treatments for ischemic stroke are limited. At present, neural stem cell (NSC)
therapy is considered a promising method for treating ischemic stroke. However, the
behavior of transplanted NSCs remains ambiguous. Herein, we report the feasibility
of superparamagnetic iron oxide labeling for long-time magnetic resonance imaging
to track transplanted NSCs in a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion model.
According to our studies, in vivo monitoring of transplanted NSCs during ischemic
stroke in the current work may provide another insight into the tracking strategy of
*Corresponding authors: transplanted NSCs, thereby advancing NSC-based therapy toward clinical application.
Guangtian Wang
(wangguangtian0451@163.com)
Bing Han Keywords: Neural stem cell; Ischemic stroke; Superparamagnetic iron oxide; Magnetic
(hanb@seu.edu.cn) resonance imaging; Tracking
Citation: Bai Y, Zhou Z,
Zang F, et al., 2022, Tracking of
transplanted neural stem cells
labeled with superparamagnetic
iron oxide in ischemic stroke. Adv 1. Introduction
Neuro, 1(3): 278
https://doi.org/10.36922/an.v1i3.278 Ischemic stroke causes significant mortality and morbidity, affecting millions of people
worldwide [1-3] . Given the potential risk factors and the aging population, the prevalence
Received: November 30, 2022
of ischemic stroke is expected to increase . Therapeutic strategies for stroke have made
[4]
Accepted: December 9, 2022 significant progress during the past several years. Current pharmacological treatments for
Published Online: December 27, ischemic stroke are primarily to reduce brain damage through the use of thrombolytic
2022 agents, antithrombotic agents, or neuroprotective agents [5-7] . However, the current therapies
Copyright: © 2022 Author(s). cannot be applied to all ischemic stroke patients and adequately improve the outcomes.
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the Studies have shown that the use of cell therapy following ischemic stroke increases
Creative Commons Attribution neuroplasticity, improves the structure and physiological functions of brain tissue, and
License, permitting distribution, [8]
and reproduction in any medium, promotes the recovery of the nervous system . Neural stem cells (NSCs) play key roles
provided the original work is in brain homeostasis and exhibit potential therapeutic function in ischemic stroke [5,9-11] .
properly cited. Our previous study has demonstrated that si-circHIPK2 regulates NSC differentiation,
Publisher’s Note: AccScience and NSCs transduced with si-circHIPK2 promote neuroprotection and functional
Publishing remains neutral with recovery after stroke . However, the clinical application of stem cell therapy remains a
[12]
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional big challenge because the biodistribution and fate of transplanted stem cells in the brain
affiliations. need to be determined in this therapy [13,14] . Tracking transplanted NSCs in vivo to eval-

Volume 1 Issue 3 (2022) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/an.v1i3.278