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
. 2019 Aug 20:710:17-23.
doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2019.02.078. Epub 2019 Mar 5.

Targeted stimulation of MSCs in peripheral nerve repair

Femke Mathot  1 , Alexander Y Shin  2 , Andre J Van Wijnen  3
Affiliations
Review

Targeted stimulation of MSCs in peripheral nerve repair

Femke Mathot et al. Gene. .

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have considerable translational potential in a wide variety of clinical disciplines and are the cellular foundation of individualized treatments of auto-immune, cardiac, neurologic and musculoskeletal diseases and disorders. While the cellular mechanisms by which MSCs exert their biological effects remain to be ascertained, it has been hypothesized that MSCs are supportive of local tissue repair through secretion of essential growth factors. Therapeutic applications of MSCs in peripheral nerve repair have recently been reported. This review focuses on how MSCs can promote nerve regeneration by conversion into Schwann-like cells, and discusses differentiation methods including delivery and dosing of naive or differentiated MSCs, as well as in vitro and in vivo outcomes. While MSC-based therapies for nerve repair are still in early stages of development, current progress in the field provides encouragement that MSCs may have utility in the treatment of patients with peripheral nerve injury.

Keywords: Allografts; Delivery method; Differentiation; Schwann cells; Stromal cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Schematic overview of the (hypothesized) subset of functions of mesenchymal stromal cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rbia N, Shin AY. The Role of Nerve Graft Substitutes in Motor and Mixed Motor/Sensory Peripheral Nerve Injuries. J Hand Surg Am. 2017;42(5):367–77. - PubMed
    1. Georgiou M, Golding JP, Loughlin AJ, Kingham PJ, Phillips JB. Engineered neural tissue with aligned, differentiated adipose-derived stem cells promotes peripheral nerve regeneration across a critical sized defect in rat sciatic nerve. Biomaterials. 2015;37:242–51. - PubMed
    1. Hundepool CA, Nijhuis TH, Mohseny B, Selles RW, Hovius SE. The effect of stem cells in bridging peripheral nerve defects: a meta-analysis. Journal of neurosurgery. 2014;121(1):195–209. - PubMed
    1. Tomita K, Madura T, Sakai Y, Yano K, Terenghi G, Hosokawa K. Glial differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells: implications for cell-based transplantation therapy. Neuroscience. 2013;236:55–65. - PubMed
    1. Caddick J, Kingham PJ, Gardiner NJ, Wiberg M, Terenghi G. Phenotypic and functional characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells differentiated along a Schwann cell lineage. Glia. 2006;54(8):840–9. - PubMed