Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the treatment of Cerebral Ischemic Injury

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are undifferentiated adult stem cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation with a broad tissue distribution essential for tissue repairing and maintenance. These cells are isolated and expanded in vitro and kept as stem cells throughout many generations while maintaining its capability of differentiation when receiving appropriate stimuli. They have intrinsic multilineage potential, and as such, under special experimental conditions, are capable of differentiating into neuronal and glial cells, both in vivo and in vitro. The MSC migrate to the injured site after being intravenously injected, and in there promote endogenous cell proliferation, diminish apoptosis, and reduce the neurological deficits resulting from cerebral ischemia. In this review we describe the many actions that the MSC exert on the injured nervous tissue, through their direct, paracrine, and systemic effects.