Effects and Mechanisms of Acupuncture Combined with Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation on Neural Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury: Progress and Prospects

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) often result in permanent loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic functions. Acupuncture has shown promise in improving neuron function after SCI by reducing inflammation, oxidation, and apoptosis. However, combining acupuncture with mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation has shown superior results compared to either treatment alone. Acupuncture enhances the survival of MSCs, promotes their differentiation into neurons, and facilitates their targeted migration to the spinal cord. This combination overcomes the limitation of insufficient endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) in SCI patients, making it a potentially effective strategy for SCI treatment. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotential stem cells derived from the mesoderm. MSCs have been regarded as pluripotent “seed cells” with two main therapeutic effects: migration of cells to the damaged tissue and differentiation into tissue-specific cell types, thus restoring the function of target tissues and organs and the inhibition of local inflammation, apoptosis, and fibrosis.

• 1
  Acupuncture improves sensory and motor function in SCI patients by improving activity of daily living (ADL). Pooled analyses in a meta-analysis showed that acupuncture had a beneficial effect on neurological recovery (relative risk: 1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12-1.50), motor function (weighted mean difference: 6.86, 95% CI: 0.41-13.31), and functional recovery (standardized mean difference: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.56-1.21).
• 2
  Acupuncture provides neuroprotection by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammatory response after SCI. EA stimulation of GV4 reduced the level of ROS by 15%, decreased the extent of spinal cord tissue damage by 25%, and improved the motor function of hindlimbs in paralyzed rats by 18.1%.
• 3
  The combination of acupuncture and MSC transplantation shows better SCI treatment outcomes than either method alone. This combination enhances MSC survival, promotes their differentiation into neurons, and facilitates targeted migration to the spinal cord.