Imaging approaches to hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell function and engraftment.

Cell tracking in vivo continues to provide significant insights into hematopoietic cell function and donor cell engraftment after transplantation. The combination of proliferation tracking dyes and induced expression of reporters with advanced imaging modalities has led to better understanding of qualitative and quantitative aspects of hematopoietic cells' homing, seeding and engraftment. Currently, there is no single technique that allows in vivo tracking of cells with molecular resolution, thus several techniques need to be combined. Recent developments promise better implementation of non-invasive imaging modalities to study functional and molecular characteristics of stem cells.