Wang Chen, Ling Shuang, Xu Jin-Wen
Institute of Interdisciplinary Medical Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Jul 8;2020:7307026. doi: 10.1155/2020/7307026. eCollection 2020.
Stem cells (SCs) are special types of cells with the ability of self-renewal and multidirectional differentiation. As the organism ages, the ability to maintain homeostasis and regeneration deteriorates and the number and activity of stem cells decline. Theoretically, the restoration of stem cells might reverse aging. However, due to their own aging, donor-derived immune rejection, and difficulties in stem cell differentiation control, a series of problems need to be solved to realize the potential for clinical application of stem cells. Chinese herbal medicine is a nature drug library which is suitable for the long-term treatment of aging-related diseases. Modern pharmacological studies have revealed that many active ingredients of Chinese herbal medicines with the effect of promoting stem cells growth and differentiation mainly belong to "reinforcing herbs." In recent years, exploration of natural active ingredients from Chinese herbal medicines for delaying aging, improving the stem cell microenvironment, and promoting the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous stem cells has attracted substantial attention. This article will focus on active ingredients from Chinese herbs-mediated differentiation of stem cells into particular cell type, like neural cells, endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes, and osteoblasts. We will also discuss the effects of these small molecules on Wnt, Sonic Hedgehog, Notch, eNOS-cGMP, and MAP kinase signal transduction pathways, as well as reveal the role of estrogen receptor and PPAR on selectively promoting or inhibiting stem cells differentiation. This review will provide new insights into the health aging strategies of active ingredients in Chinese herbal medicine in regenerative medicine.
干细胞（SCs）是具有自我更新和多向分化能力的特殊细胞类型。随着机体衰老，维持内环境稳定和再生的能力下降，干细胞的数量和活性也会降低。从理论上讲，干细胞的恢复可能会逆转衰老。然而，由于干细胞自身老化、供体来源的免疫排斥以及干细胞分化控制方面的困难，要实现干细胞临床应用的潜力还需要解决一系列问题。中药是一个天然药物库，适合用于长期治疗与衰老相关的疾病。现代药理学研究表明，许多具有促进干细胞生长和分化作用的中药活性成分主要属于“补虚药”。近年来，从中药中探索天然活性成分以延缓衰老、改善干细胞微环境并促进内源性干细胞的增殖和分化受到了广泛关注。本文将重点关注中药活性成分介导干细胞向特定细胞类型（如神经细胞、内皮细胞、心肌细胞和成骨细胞）的分化。我们还将讨论这些小分子对Wnt、音猬因子（Sonic Hedgehog）、Notch、内皮型一氧化氮合酶 - 环磷酸鸟苷（eNOS - cGMP）和丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAP）信号转导通路的影响，以及揭示雌激素受体和过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体（PPAR）在选择性促进或抑制干细胞分化方面的作用。这篇综述将为中药活性成分在再生医学中实现健康衰老策略提供新的见解。
