Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jan 26, 2015; 7(1): 75-83
Published online Jan 26, 2015. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i1.75
In vivo imaging of endogenous neural stem cells in the adult brain
Maria Adele Rueger, Michael Schroeter
Maria Adele Rueger, Michael Schroeter, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Cologne, 50924 Cologne, Germany
Author contributions: All the authors contributed to this work.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Maria Adele Rueger, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Cologne, Kerpener Strasse 62, 50924 Cologne, Germany. adele.rueger@uk-koeln.de
Telephone: +49-221-47887803 Fax: +49-221-47889143
Received: August 22, 2014
Peer-review started: August 22, 2014
First decision: September 28, 2014
Revised: October 2, 2014
Accepted: October 28, 2014
Article in press: December 16, 2014
Published online: January 26, 2015
Processing time: 145 Days and 9.5 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Endogenous neural stem cells (eNSCs) in the adult mammalian brain can be mobilized by, e.g., pharmacological methods to facilitate regeneration and enhance functional recovery in neurological disease. In order to translate experimental approaches into the clinical setting, non-invasive imaging of eNSCs is required to monitor their fate in vivo. This review summarizes current imaging modalities suitable to monitor eNSCs in individual experimental animals over time, including optical imaging, magnetic resonance tomography and-spectroscopy, as well as Positron-Emission-Tomography, placing emphasis on the specificity of the signal obtained, as well as on their potential for clinical translation.