State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface Research, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
Stem Cells. 2021 Aug;39(8):1025-1032. doi: 10.1002/stem.3366. Epub 2021 Mar 5.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) typically results in long-lasting functional deficits, largely due to primary and secondary white matter damage at the site of injury. The transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) has shown promise for re-establishing communications between separated regions of the spinal cord through the insertion of new neurons between the injured axons and target neurons. However, the inhibitory microenvironment that develops after SCI often causes endogenous and transplanted NSCs to differentiate into glial cells rather than neurons. Functional biomaterials have been shown to mitigate the effects of the adverse SCI microenvironment and promote the neuronal differentiation of NSCs. A clear understanding of the mechanisms of neuronal differentiation within the injury-induced microenvironment would likely allow for the development of treatment strategies designed to promote the innate ability of NSCs to differentiate into neurons. The increased differentiation of neurons may contribute to relay formation, facilitating functional recovery after SCI. In this review, we summarize current strategies used to enhance the neuronal differentiation of NSCs through the reconstruction of the SCI microenvironment and to improve the intrinsic neuronal differentiation abilities of NSCs, which is significant for SCI repair.
脊髓损伤（SCI）通常会导致长期的功能缺陷，这主要是由于损伤部位的原发性和继发性白质损伤。神经干细胞（NSCs）的移植已显示出通过在损伤轴突和靶神经元之间插入新的神经元，在脊髓的分离区域之间重新建立通信的潜力。然而，SCI 后形成的抑制性微环境常常导致内源性和移植的 NSCs 分化为胶质细胞而不是神经元。功能生物材料已被证明可以减轻不利的 SCI 微环境的影响，并促进 NSCs 的神经元分化。对损伤诱导的微环境中神经元分化机制的深入了解可能有助于开发旨在促进 NSCs 固有能力分化为神经元的治疗策略。神经元分化的增加可能有助于中继形成，促进 SCI 后的功能恢复。在这篇综述中，我们总结了通过重建 SCI 微环境增强 NSCs 神经元分化的现有策略，以及提高 NSCs 的内在神经元分化能力，这对 SCI 修复具有重要意义。
