Spinal cord injury repair based on drug and cell delivery: From remodeling microenvironment to relay connection formation

Materials Today Bio, 2025 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.101556 · Published: February 4, 2025

Spinal Cord Injury Pharmacology Biomedical

Simple Explanation

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are complex and challenging, often leading to sensory and motor function loss. Traditional treatments have limitations, but tissue engineering (TE) offers a new approach by delivering drugs and cells to the injury site to promote neural regeneration and functional recovery. This review outlines the pathophysiology of SCI, including the adverse microenvironment that forms post-injury, and discusses various materials and strategies used in TE for SCI treatment. The focus is on advancements in drug and cell delivery using scaffolds. The review also explores both local and systemic delivery methods, highlighting the importance of precise drug release, cell survival, stem cell differentiation, and neural network formation. It aims to provide insights for clinical tissue engineering approaches for SCI repair.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Not specified

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Tissue engineering strategies can address the limitations of conventional SCI treatments by delivering drugs and cells with specific effects to the injury site.
2
Reshaping the microenvironment after SCI is crucial for enabling endogenous relay network formation, which involves preserving axons, minimizing scar formation, and creating a supportive niche for exogenous neural stem cells.
3
Combining drug and cell delivery strategies remains the most promising approach for SCI repair, with scaffolds playing a vital role in supporting this process through biocompatibility enhancement and modulation of material structure and properties.

Research Summary

Spinal cord injury (SCI) presents a significant neurological challenge, spurring interest in novel treatment strategies like tissue engineering and stem cell engineering. Combining drug and cell delivery remains the most promising strategy for SCI repair. Scaffold, as a core component, plays a crucial role by employing biocompatibility enhancement, growth factor regulation, and modulation of material structure and properties. TE has overcome bottlenecks of traditional therapies, improving the precision of systemic delivery and enabling long-term retention and precise spatiotemporal release of drugs in local delivery.

Practical Implications

Clinical Translation

The review highlights the potential for clinical translation of tissue engineering strategies in SCI repair, emphasizing the need for further innovation and development.

Material Design

The analysis serves as a valuable reference for the development of novel materials that can more effectively support SCI repair.

Therapeutic Approaches

The discussion on drug and cell delivery strategies provides insights for developing more effective therapeutic approaches for SCI.

Study Limitations

1
The mechanisms through which the hostile microenvironment impedes spinal cord regeneration are not fully understood.
2
Effective strategies for promoting long-distance axonal regeneration, especially for regenerating cortical spinal tracts, remain lacking.
3
Existing scaffolds have not yet achieved the precision needed to form functional neural networks between host and exogenous neurons.

Your Feedback

Was this summary helpful?

Back to Spinal Cord Injury