Cell therapy in spinal cord injury: A mini- reivew

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating disease which leads to progressive functional
damages. Because of limited axonal regeneration in the central nervous system, there is no
or little recovery expected in the patients. Different cellular and molecular approaches were
investigated in SCI animal models. Cellular transplantation of stem cells can potentially replace
damaged tissue and provide a suitable microenvironment for axons to regenerate. Here, we
reviewed the last approaches applied by our colleagues and others in order to improve axonal
regeneration following SCI. We used different types of stem cells via different methods. First,
fetal olfactory mucosa, schwann, and bone marrow stromal cells were transplanted into the
injury sites in SCI models. In later studies, was applied simultaneous transplantation of stem
cells with chondroitinase ABC in SCI models with the aid of nanoparticles. Using these
approaches, considerable functional recovery was observed. However, considering some
challenges in stem cell therapy such as rejection, infection, and development of a new cancer,
our more recent strategy was application of cytokines. We observed a significant improvement
in motor function of rats when stromal derived factor-1 was used to attract innate stem cells
to the injury site. In conclusion, it seems that co-transplantation of different cells accompanies
with other factors like enzymes and growth factors via new delivery systems may yield better
results in SCI.