Endogenous stem cell proliferation after central nervous system injury: alternative therapeutic options.
The continuous regeneration of glial cells arising from endogenous stem cell populations in the central nervous system (CNS) occurs throughout life in mammals. In the ongoing research to apply stem cell therapy to neurological diseases, the capacity to harness the multipotential ability of endogenous stem cell populations has become apparent. Such cell populations proliferate in response to a variety of injury states in the CNS, but in the absence of a supportive microenvironment they contribute little to any significant behavioral recovery. In the authors' laboratory and elsewhere, recent research on the regenerative potential of these stem cells in disease states such as spinal cord injury has demonstrated that the cells' proliferative potential may be greatly upregulated in response to appropriate growth signals and exogenously applied trophic factors. Further understanding of the potential of such multipotent cells and the mechanisms responsible for creating a favorable microenvironment for them may lead to additional therapeutic alternatives in the setting of neurological diseases. These therapies would require no exogenous stem cell sources and thus would avoid the ethical and moral considerations regarding their use. In this review the authors provide a brief overview of the enhancement of endogenous stem cell proliferation following neurological insult.
Bambakidis
Nicholas C
NC
Division of Neurological Surgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. neuropub@chw.edu
Theodore
Nicholas
N
Nakaji
Peter
P
Harvey
Adrian
A
Sonntag
Volker K H
VK
Preul
Mark C
MC
Miller
Robert H
RH
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000473:pathology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D020196:Trauma, Nervous System / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy