Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2012 Nov;7(6):833-50.
doi: 10.2217/rme.12.82.

Stem cell recruitment after injury: lessons for regenerative medicine

Robert C Rennert  1 , Michael Sorkin, Ravi K Garg, Geoffrey C Gurtner
Affiliations
Review

Stem cell recruitment after injury: lessons for regenerative medicine

Robert C Rennert et al. Regen Med. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

Tissue repair and regeneration are thought to involve resident cell proliferation as well as the selective recruitment of circulating stem and progenitor cell populations through complex signaling cascades. Many of these recruited cells originate from the bone marrow, and specific subpopulations of bone marrow cells have been isolated and used to augment adult tissue regeneration in preclinical models. Clinical studies of cell-based therapies have reported mixed results, however, and a variety of approaches to enhance the regenerative capacity of stem cell therapies are being developed based on emerging insights into the mechanisms of progenitor cell biology and recruitment following injury. This article discusses the function and mechanisms of recruitment of important bone marrow-derived stem and progenitor cell populations following injury, as well as the emerging therapeutic applications targeting these cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Proposed functions of recruited bone marrow-derived cellular subpopulations following injury
EPCs are thought to contribute mainly to neovascularization, while VSELs, MSCs and HSCs variably support neovascularization and tissue regeneration through paracrine effects on native cell survival and RPC proliferation, as well as infrequent direct cellular differentiation. EPC: Endothelial progenitor cell; HSC: Hematopoietic stem cell; MSC: Mesenchymal stem cell; RPC: Resident progenitor cell; VSEL: Very small embryonic-like cell.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Stem cell enhancement strategies following injury
Clinical trials on stem cell therapies have shown mixed efficacy, but experimental approaches targeting the endogenous cellular response (A) or enhancement of cell delivery (B) can improve stem cell function, survival and/or homing, leading to improved outcomes following injury. EPO: Erythropoietin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hamou C, Callaghan MJ, Thangarajah H, et al. Mesenchymal stem cells can participate in ischemic neovascularization. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2009;123(2 Suppl):S45–S55. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kucia MJ, Wysoczynski M, Wu W, Zuba-Surma EK, Ratajczak J, Ratajczak MZ. Evidence that very small embryonic-like stem cells are mobilized into peripheral blood. Stem Cells. 2008;26(8):2083–2092. - PubMed
    1. Tepper OM, Capla JM, Galiano RD, et al. Adult vasculogenesis occurs through in situ recruitment, proliferation, and tubulization of circulating bone marrow-derived cells. Blood. 2005;105(3):1068–1077. - PubMed
    1. Xynos A, Corbella P, Belmonte N, Zini R, Manfredini R, Ferrari G. Bone marrow-derived hematopoietic cells undergo myogenic differentiation following a Pax-7 independent pathway. Stem Cells. 2010;28(5):965–973. - PubMed
    1. Deng J, Zou ZM, Zhou TL, et al. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can be mobilized into peripheral blood by G-CSF in vivo and integrate into traumatically injured cerebral tissue. Neurol Sci. 2011;32(4):641–651. - PubMed

Publication types