Therapeutic Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and MSC-Derived Extracellular Vesicles for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 24; p. 13672
• Main Authors: Kim, Gang-Un, Sung, Soo-Eun, Kang, Kyung-Ku, Choi, Joo-Hee, Lee, Sijoon, Sung, Minkyoung, Yang, Seung Yun, Kim, Seul-Ki, Kim, Young In, Lim, Ju-Hyeon, Seo, Min-Soo, Lee, Gun Woo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 20.12.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Apoptosis; Autonomic nervous system; Cell culture; Chemical compounds; Cytokines; Disease Models, Animal; Edema; exosome; Exosomes; extracellular vesicle; Extracellular vesicles; Extracellular Vesicles - genetics; Extracellular Vesicles - metabolism; Extracellular Vesicles - transplantation; Functionals; Glycoproteins; Growth factors; Humans; Immune response; Immune system; Immunogenicity; Inflammation; Ischemia; Lipids; Medical prognosis; mesenchymal stem cell; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; Mesenchymal stem cells; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - metabolism; Nervous system; Nucleic acids; Pharmacology; Proteins; Regenerative medicine; Review; Spinal cord injuries; Spinal Cord Injuries - therapy; spinal cord injury; Stem cell transplantation; Stem cells; Tissue engineering; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Vesicles; spinal cord injury; mesenchymal stem cell; exosome; extracellular vesicle
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms222413672

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-threatening condition that leads to permanent disability with partial or complete loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic functions. SCI is usually caused by initial mechanical insult, followed by a cascade of several neuroinflammation and structural changes. For ameliorating the neuroinflammatory cascades, MSC has been regarded as a therapeutic agent. The animal SCI research has demonstrated that MSC can be a valuable therapeutic agent with several growth factors and cytokines that may induce anti-inflammatory and regenerative effects. However, the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs in animal SCI models is inconsistent, and the optimal method of MSCs remains debatable. Moreover, there are several limitations to developing these therapeutic agents for humans. Therefore, identifying novel agents for regenerative medicine is necessary. Extracellular vesicles are a novel source for regenerative medicine; they possess nucleic acids, functional proteins, and bioactive lipids and perform various functions, including damaged tissue repair, immune response regulation, and reduction of inflammation. MSC-derived exosomes have advantages over MSCs, including small dimensions, low immunogenicity, and no need for additional procedures for culture expansion or delivery. Certain studies have demonstrated that MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, exhibit outstanding chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, we reviewed the principles and patho-mechanisms and summarized the research outcomes of MSCs and MSC-derived EVs for SCI, reported to date.