Unlocking the paradoxical endogenous stem cell response after spinal cord injury: Concise review

Response of spinal cord ependymal stem cells to spinal cord injury. A, Glutamate stimulates neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) proliferation and enhances survival through AMPA receptor activation. B, M1 macrophages increase pro ‐inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression in NSPCs and enhance proliferation through MAPK‐Sox2 signaling. M2 macrophages increase anti‐inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression in NSPCs, reduce proliferation, and increase neuronal differentiation. C, Myelin‐derived inhibitory proteins limit NSPC pr oliferation and neuronal differentiation via NgR1 signaling. D, NSPCs maintain a high endogenous level of ROS which promotes proliferation and survival. E, A portion of ependymal NSPCs differentiate into astrocytes after injury and contribute to the glial scar. F, NSPCs are capable of differentiatin g into oligodendrocytes with a capacity for remyelination. The blue area in A‐D represents an endogenous ependymal region NSPC. AbstractNearly a century ago, the concept of the secondary injury in spinal cord trauma was first proposed to explain the complex cascade of molecular and cellular events leading to widespread neuronal and glial cell death after trauma. In recent years, it has been established that the ependymal region of the adult mammalian spinal cord contains a population of multipotent neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) that are activated after spinal cord injury (SCI) and likely play a key role in endogenous repair and regeneration. How these c...
Source: Stem Cells - Category: Stem Cells Authors: Tags: TISSUE ‐SPECIFIC STEM CELLS Source Type: research