Overexpression of VLA-4 in glial-restricted precursors enhances their endothelial docking and induces diapedesis in a mouse stroke model.

The loss of oligodendrocytes after stroke is one of the major causes of secondary injury. Glial-restricted progenitors (GRPs) have remylenating potential after intraparenchymal cerebral transplantation. The intraarterial (IA) injection route is an attractive gateway for global brain delivery, but, after IA infusion, naive GRPs fail to bind to the cerebral vasculature.

Real-time MRI for precise and predictable intra-arterial stem cell delivery to the central nervous system.

Stem cell therapy for neurological disorders reached a pivotal point when the efficacy of several cell types was demonstrated in small animal models. Translation of stem cell therapy is contingent upon overcoming the challenge of effective cell delivery to the human brain, which has a volume ∼1000 times larger than that of the mouse. Intra-arterial injection can achieve a broad, global, but also on-demand spatially targeted biodistribution; however, its utility has been limited by unpredictable cell destination and homing as dictated by the vascular territory, as well as by safety concerns.