Serial questions about endogenous neural stem cell response in the ependymal zone after spinal cord injury

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord injury is a serious injury to the central nervous system, and there is currently no effective treatment for it. Patients with spinal cord injury suffer great pain both physically and mentally. The high cost of treatment and serious sequelae have become the main burden of sick families. With the continuous development of molecular biology research on endogenous neural stem cells, it is found that endogenous neural stem cells have great potential to repair damaged spinal cord conduction bundle, which also brings hope for the reconstruction of functional nerve loop. OBJECTIVE: To review the response and regulatory factors of endogenous neural stem cells after spinal cord injury. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, Wanfang, CNKI China journal full-text database were searched for articles regarding endogenous neural stem cells after spinal cord injury. English and Chinese search terms were “spinal cord injury, endogenous neural stem cell”. According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, 70 articles were included for summary. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After spinal cord injury, endogenous neural stem cells in the ependymal region were activated, migrated to the damaged site, differentiated into functional neurons and glial cells, limited the further expansion of the injury, and repaired the damaged neural structure. This process is influenced by a variety of factors released during secondary spinal cord injury. Further research is needed on the origin of endogenous neural stem cells and the mechanisms by which they are activated, as well as how they can be induced to differentiate in a direction more conducive to repair of spinal cord injury.