Advances in radionuclide imaging of monitoring embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells transplantation

Embryonic stem cells(ESCs) possess the ability to differentiate into various cell types. Induced pluripotent stem cells(iPSCs) are a type of pluripotent stem cell genetically reprogrammed from somatic cells, which have similar biological features of natural pluripotent stem cells, such as ESCs. iPSCs have been widely used in stem cell therapy without any drawbacks of ethical issues. In recent years, there is a growing body of studies concerning molecular imaging of monitoring stem cells transplantation and made significant achievements. This review will be focused on the updated application of radionuclide imaging in monitoring of ESCs and iPSCs transplantation.Stem cell transplantation; Pluripotent stem cells; Radionuclide imaging; Molecular imaging