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Augmenting Peripheral Nerve Regeneration with Adipose-Derived Stem Cells

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Abstract

Peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs) are common and debilitating, cause significant health care costs for society, and rely predominately on autografts, which necessitate grafting a nerve section non-locally to repair the nerve injury. One possible approach to improving treatment is bolstering endogenous regenerative mechanisms or bioengineering new nervous tissue in the peripheral nervous system. In this review, we discuss critical-sized nerve gaps and nerve regeneration in rats, and summarize the roles of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) in the treatment of PNIs. Several regenerative treatment modalities for PNI are described: ADSCs differentiating into Schwann cells (SCs), ADSCs secreting growth factors to promote peripheral nerve growth, ADSCs promoting myelination growth, and ADSCs treatments with scaffolds. ADSCs’ roles in regenerative treatment and features are compared to mesenchymal stem cells, and the administration routes, cell dosages, and cell fates are discussed. ADSCs secrete neurotrophic factors and exosomes and can differentiate into Schwann cell-like cells (SCLCs) that share features with naturally occurring SCs, including the ability to promote nerve regeneration in the PNS. Future clinical applications are also discussed.

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Abbreviations

PNIs:

Peripheral nerve injuries

ADSCs:

Adipose-derived stem cells

uADSCs:

Undifferentiated ADSCs

dADSCs:

Differentiated ADSCs

SCs:

Schwann cells

SCLCs:

Schwann cell-like cells

NGCs:

Neural guidance conduits

MSCs:

Mesenchymal stem cells

BMMSCs:

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

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Funding

XJ was supported in part by Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, USA (2018-MSCRFD-4271 and 2020-MSCRFD-5384) (both to XJ), NIH RO1 NS117102 (to XJ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, 325027, China

    Liangfu Jiang & Xijie Zhou

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 10 South Pine Street, MSTF Building 823, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Thomas Mee, Xijie Zhou & Xiaofeng Jia

  3. Department of Orthopedics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Xiaofeng Jia

  4. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Xiaofeng Jia

  5. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Xiaofeng Jia

  6. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Xiaofeng Jia

Authors
  1. Liangfu Jiang
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  2. Thomas Mee
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  3. Xijie Zhou
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  4. Xiaofeng Jia
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Contributions

LJ contributed with data acquisition and analysis, searched and reviewed the literature, drafted and revised the manuscript; XZ searched and reviewed the literature, and drafted the manuscript; TM reviewed the literature and revised the manuscript; XJ conceived the idea, designed and formulated the review theme, viewed the literature, data analysis, and revised and finalized the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiaofeng Jia.

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The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the writing of this review.

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Significance statement: This concise review seeks to highlight the recent advances in augmenting nerve regeneration after peripheral nerve injury using adipose-derived stem cells with a focus on administration routes, cell dosages, cell fates, and underlying therapeutic mechanisms.

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Jiang, L., Mee, T., Zhou, X. et al. Augmenting Peripheral Nerve Regeneration with Adipose-Derived Stem Cells. Stem Cell Rev and Rep 18, 544–558 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12015-021-10236-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12015-021-10236-5

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