Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation: Neuroprotection and Nerve Regeneration After Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition with limited effective treatments. After SCI, secondary injuries create an unfavorable environment for neural recovery, leading to cell death. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation has emerged as a promising therapy. MSCs can promote spinal cord injury repair through mechanisms like immunomodulation, neuroprotection, and nerve regeneration, offering hope for patients. This paper discusses the neuroprotection and nerve regeneration aspects of MSCs for treating spinal cord injuries. MSCs are pluripotent stem cells that can be derived from various tissues. These qualities have caused MSCs to gradually gain attention in the fields of medicine and tissue engineering in recent decades.

• 1
  MSCs transplantation protects nerves through anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic, and increased blood flow mechanisms.
• 2
  MSCs enhance intrinsic neuronal growth potential and modifies glial scarring to support nerve regeneration.
• 3
  Paracrine secretion and directed differentiation are the two crucial functions of MSCs in repairing injured tissue, however in models of spinal cord injury, paracrine secretion is more likely to occur than directed differentiation.