Conditioned Medium From the Stem Cells of Human Exfoliated Deciduous Teeth Ameliorates Neuropathic Pain in a Partial Sciatic Nerve Ligation Model

Neuropathic pain (NP) is a chronic pain condition resulting from injury or disease affecting the somatosensory system, and current treatments are often ineffective. This study explores the potential of conditioned medium (CM) derived from stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED-CM) as a therapy for NP. The researchers used a mouse model of partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSL), which induces pain sensations like tactile allodynia and hyperalgesia. Intravenous administration of SHED-CM significantly improved these PSL-induced hypersensitivities in the mice. The study found that SHED-CM treatment led to the recruitment of anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages to the injured sciatic nerve and dorsal root ganglion. This recruitment suppressed microglial activation in the spinal cord, suggesting a key mechanism through which SHED-CM alleviates neuropathic pain.

• 1
  Intravenous administration of SHED-CM greatly improved PSL-induced hypersensitivity, indicating a reduction in neuropathic pain symptoms in mice.
• 2
  SHED-CM treatment resulted in the recruitment of M2 macrophages in the injured sciatic nerve and dorsal root ganglion, suggesting an anti-inflammatory mechanism.
• 3
  M2-CM directly suppressed the expression of nociceptive receptors as well as proinflammatory mediators in Schwann cells, suggesting a direct analgesic effect.