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Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosome-Educated Macrophages Promote Functional Healing After Spinal Cord Injury

Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2021 · DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.725573 · Published: September 28, 2021

Spinal Cord InjuryRegenerative MedicineNeurology

Simple Explanation

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to permanent neurological deficits due to complex pathological events restricting nervous tissue regeneration. An ideal treatment should enhance both axon growth and vascular perfusion. Macrophages, key players in tissue repair, can be polarized into different subsets like M1 and M2. Using MSC-derived exosome-educated macrophages (EEM) has attracted attention as a therapeutic strategy. This study demonstrates that EEM transplantation facilitates neurological functional recovery by promoting angiogenesis and axon growth after SCI, offering a novel therapeutic strategy for SCI and other neurovascular injury disorders.

Study Duration
8 Weeks
Participants
Female C57BL/6 mice (8 weeks old)
Evidence Level
In vivo and in vitro study

Key Findings

  • 1
    EEM treatment effectively promoted the angiogenic activity of HUVECs and axonal growth in cortical neurons in vitro.
  • 2
    Exogenous administration of EEM directly into the injured spinal cord promoted neurological functional healing by modulating angiogenesis and axon growth in vivo.
  • 3
    EEM transplantation could reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory factors while increasing the expression of inhibitory inflammatory factors, providing an inflammation-inhibitory microenvironment.

Research Summary

This study investigates the therapeutic potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosome-educated macrophages (EEM) in promoting functional healing after spinal cord injury (SCI). The findings demonstrate that EEM treatment effectively promotes angiogenesis and axon growth both in vitro and in vivo, leading to improved neurological functional recovery in a spinal cord contusive injury mouse model. The study suggests that EEM transplantation provides a novel strategy to promote healing after SCI and other neurovascular injury disorders by modulating angiogenesis, axon growth, and the inflammatory microenvironment.

Practical Implications

Therapeutic Strategy

EEM treatment provides a novel therapeutic strategy for SCI and other neurovascular injury disorders.

Regenerative Environment

EEM creates a regenerative environment for SCI healing by promoting angiogenesis and axon growth.

Clinical Translation

EEM may have wide applications in CNS disorders.

Study Limitations

  • 1
    The specific factors secreted from EEM that induce angiogenesis and axon growth in the injured spinal cord are largely unknown.
  • 2
    The study could not exclude the direct or indirect effect of EEM on neurological functional recovery after SCI.
  • 3
    The long-term effects of EEM transplantation were not assessed beyond the 8-week study duration.

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