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Stem Cell Therapy: Repurposing Cell-Based Regenerative Medicine Beyond Cell Replacement

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Cell Biology and Translational Medicine, Volume 1

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((CBTMED,volume 1079))

Abstract

Stem cells exhibit simple and naive cellular features, yet their exact purpose for regenerative medicine continues to elude even the most elegantly designed research paradigms from developmental biology to clinical therapeutics. Based on their capacity to divide indefinitely and their dynamic differentiation into any type of tissue, the advent of transplantable stem cells has offered a potential treatment for aging-related and injury-mediated diseases. Recent laboratory evidence has demonstrated that transplanted human neural stem cells facilitate endogenous reparative mechanisms by initiating multiple regenerative processes in the brain neurogenic areas. Within these highly proliferative niches reside a myriad of potent regenerative molecules, including anti-inflammatory cytokines, proteomes, and neurotrophic factors, altogether representing a biochemical cocktail vital for restoring brain function in the aging and diseased brain. Here, we advance the concept of therapeutically repurposing stem cells not towards cell replacement per se, but rather exploiting the cells’ intrinsic properties to serve as the host brain regenerative catalysts.

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Abbreviations

PD:

Parkinson’s Disease

hNSCs:

human neural stem cells

SVZ:

Subventricular zone

SGZ:

Subgranular zone

6-OHDA:

6-hydroxydopamine

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Conflict of Interest Disclosure

CVB receives grant support from SanBio, Inc., Saneron CCEL Inc., Astellas Institute of Regenerative Medicine, International Stem Cell Corp., and royalties from Athersys, Inc.

Funding Source

CVB is funded by NIH R01NS071956, NIH R01 NS090962, NIH R21NS089851, NIH R21 NS094087, DOD W81XWH-11-1-0634, and VA Merit Review I01 BX001407.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Eleonora Napoli

  2. Center of Excellence for Aging & Brain Repair, Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA

    Trenton Lippert & Cesar V. Borlongan

Authors
  1. Eleonora Napoli
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  2. Trenton Lippert
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  3. Cesar V. Borlongan
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Eleonora Napoli or Cesar V. Borlongan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (Retired), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Kursad Turksen

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Napoli, E., Lippert, T., Borlongan, C.V. (2018). Stem Cell Therapy: Repurposing Cell-Based Regenerative Medicine Beyond Cell Replacement. In: Turksen, K. (eds) Cell Biology and Translational Medicine, Volume 1. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 1079. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/5584_2018_174

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