Umbilical cord blood stem cell therapy in premature brain injury: Opportunities and challenges

• Published in: Journal of neuroscience research Vol. 98; no. 5; pp. 815 - 825
• Main Authors: Peng, Xirui, Song, Juan, Li, Bingbing, Zhu, Changlian, Wang, Xiaoyang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.05.2020
• Subjects: Animal models; Blood; Brain; Brain injury; Cell therapy; cerebral palsy; children; Clinical trials; Cord blood; Developmental disabilities; Disabilities; extremely preterm infants; feasibility; Global health; Head injuries; Hematopoietic stem cells; Infants; infusion; Injury prevention; intraventricular hemorrhage; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; neurodevelopmental outcomes; Neurological complications; Neurosciences; Neurosciences & Neurology; Neurovetenskaper; Newborn babies; Paralysis; Premature birth; preterm birth; recombinant-human-erythropoietin; Regeneration; stem cell; stem cell transplantation; Stem cells; Therapy; transplantation; Traumatic brain injury; Umbilical cord; umbilical cord blood; white matter injury; preterm birth; brain injury; stem cell; stem cell transplantation; cerebral palsy; umbilical cord blood; white matter injury
• ISSN: 0360-4012; 1097-4547; 1097-4547
• DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24548

Preterm birth and associated brain injury are the primary cause of cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities and are among the most serious global health issues that modern society faces. Current therapy for infants suffering from premature brain injury is still mainly supportive, and there are no effective treatments. Thus there is a pressing need for comparative and translational studies on how to reduce brain injury and to increase regeneration and brain repair in preterm infants. There is strong supporting evidence for the use of umbilical cord blood (UCB)‐derived stem cell therapy for treating preterm brain injury and neurological sequelae. UCB‐derived stem cell therapy is effective in many animal models and has been shown to be feasible in clinical trials. Most of these therapies are still experimental, however. In this review, we focus on recent advances on the efficacy of UCB‐derived stem cell therapy in preterm infants with brain injury, and discuss the potential mechanisms behind their therapeutic effects as well as application strategies for future preclinical and clinical trials.