Intravenous application of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells alleviate neuropathic pain by suppressing microglia activation in rats

Heliyon, 2024 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32689 · Published: June 13, 2024

Regenerative Medicine Pain Management Genetics

Simple Explanation

Neuropathic pain is a serious chronic condition causing physical and mental suffering. This study explores using human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUC-MSCs) to treat neuropathic pain in rats caused by nerve damage. The study investigates if intravenous delivery of HUC-MSCs can alleviate pain and how it affects microglia, which are immune cells in the central nervous system known to play a role in neuropathic pain. The results showed that HUC-MSCs reduced pain by suppressing the activation of microglia and helping to repair nerve damage. This suggests a new way to treat neuropathic pain.

Study Duration

15 days

Participants

30 male SD rats

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Intravenous administration of HUC-MSCs significantly ameliorated CCI-induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in rats.
2
HUC-MSCs infusion significantly reversed the accumulation of activated microglia in the ipsilateral spinal cord dorsal horn.
3
TEM analysis verified the resumption of myelin lamellar structure of the sciatic nerve and the formation of new myelin sheath.

Research Summary

The study aimed to verify the analgesic effect of intravenous administration of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUC-MSCs) upon rats with chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain and the concomitant mechanism via modulating microglia. The results showed a significant amelioration of mechanical hyperalgesia and thermal allodynia in the HUC-MSCs treated group compared to the control group. The expression of Iba-1, a biomarker of activated microglia, was also significantly suppressed. Intravenous administration of HUC-MSCs systemically revealed an ameliorative effect upon CCI-induced neuropathic pain in SD rats by inhibiting microglia activation in the dorsal horn of the impaired spinal cord and alleviating sciatic nerve injury.

Practical Implications

Cytotherapy Development

The findings supply new references for the further development of HUC-MSCs-based cytotherapy for neuropathic pain administration.

Clinical Translation

The study preliminarily verified the feasibility of systemic infusion of HUC-MSCs for ameliorating CCI-induced neuropathic pain, which would also benefit clinical implementation due to the advantages including less invasive and more convenient.

Underlying Mechanisms

The antinociceptive effects of HUC-MSCs were found to be partially mediated by suppressing the abnormal activation of microglia in the ipsilateral spinal dorsal horn and the repairment of sciatic nerve injury, implying future research directions.

Study Limitations

1
Specific details of the application dosage and administration frequency need to be explored in details in the future.
2
The long-term therapeutic effects of HUC-MSCs upon peripheral neuropathic pain need to be explored in details in the future.
3
The elucidation of the underlying mechanism on HUC-MSCs-based cytotherapy for peripheral neuropathic pain is also urgently needed before clinical transformation.

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