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Review
. 2021 Feb 24;8(7):2002944.
doi: 10.1002/advs.202002944. eCollection 2021 Apr.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Neurological Disorders

Anna Andrzejewska  1 , Sylwia Dabrowska  1 , Barbara Lukomska  1 , Miroslaw Janowski  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Neurological Disorders

Anna Andrzejewska et al. Adv Sci (Weinh). .

Abstract

Neurological disorders are becoming a growing burden as society ages, and there is a compelling need to address this spiraling problem. Stem cell-based regenerative medicine is becoming an increasingly attractive approach to designing therapies for such disorders. The unique characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) make them among the most sought after cell sources. Researchers have extensively studied the modulatory properties of MSCs and their engineering, labeling, and delivery methods to the brain. The first part of this review provides an overview of studies on the application of MSCs to various neurological diseases, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other less frequently studied clinical entities. In the second part, stem cell delivery to the brain is focused. This fundamental but still understudied problem needs to be overcome to apply stem cells to brain diseases successfully. Here the value of cell engineering is also emphasized to facilitate MSC diapedesis, migration, and homing to brain areas affected by the disease to implement precision medicine paradigms into stem cell-based therapies.

Keywords: cell engineering; homing; mesenchymal stem cells; migration; neurological disorders; regeneration; transplantation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
MSCs activities facilitating regeneration in neurological diseases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparing concepts available in the literature concerning each stage of MSC transmigration from blood vessel lumen to adjacent tissue.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Aspects of in vitro culture conditions, which modification is indicated as a pretreatment method increasing MSC homing in vivo.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The most common methods used to obtain genetically modified MSCs.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Strategies employed to modify MSCs cell membrane to increase targeted homing of cells.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Techniques enhancing MSC homing by changing the destination area's properties under the influence of the external field.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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