title: Concise review: the potential of stromal cell-derived factor 1 and its receptors to promote stem cell functions in spinal cord repair.
abstract: Transplanted stem cells provide beneficial effects on regeneration/recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) by the release of growth-promoting factors, increased tissue preservation, and provision of a permissive environment for axon regeneration. A rise in chemokine stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1/CXCL12) expression levels in central nervous system (CNS) injury sites has been shown to play a central role in recruiting transplanted stem cells. Although technically more challenging, it has been shown that after SCI few endogenous stem cells are recruited via SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling. Evidence is accumulating that increasing SDF-1 levels at the injury site (e.g., by exogenous application or transfection methods) further enhances stem cell recruitment. Moreover, SDF-1 might, in addition to migration, also influence survival, proliferation, differentiation, and cytokine secretion of stem cells. Here, we discuss the experimental data available on the role of SDF-1 in stem and progenitor cell biology following CNS injury and suggest strategies for how manipulation of the SDF-1 system could facilitate stem cell-based therapeutic approaches in SCI. In addition, we discuss challenges such as how to circumvent off-target effects in order to facilitate the transfer of SDF-1 to the clinic.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine-University Medical Center Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jaerve
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schira
authors.forename: Hans Werner
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000378:metabolism; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000378:metabolism; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4 / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries; D058630:Spinal Cord Regeneration; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: C515255:CXCL12 protein, human; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4