Bioluminescence imaging of stem cell-based therapeutics for vascular regeneration

Stem cell-based therapeutics show promise for treatment of vascular diseases. However, the survival of the cells after in vivo injection into diseased tissues remains a concern. In the advent of non-invasive optical imaging techniques such as bioluminescence imaging (BLI), cell locali-zation and survival can be easily monitored over time. This approach has recently been applied towards monitoring stem cell treatments for vascular regeneration of the coronary or pe-ripheral arteries. In this review, we will describe the application of BLI for tracking trans-planted stem cells and associating their viability with therapeutic efficacy, in preclinical disease models of vascular disease.