Mesenchymal stromal cell therapy in ischemic stroke

Abstract

Stroke is a clinical disease with high incidence, high disability rate, and high mortality. But effective and safe therapy for stroke remains limited. Adult mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) perform a variety of therapeutic functions. MSC delivery improves neurological outcomes in ischemic stroke models via neurorestorative and neuroprotective effects such as angiogenic effects, promoting endogenous proliferation, and reducing apoptosis and inflammation. MSC secretome also showed powerful therapeutic effects as a cell-based therapy in animal experiments. Several clinical trials on MSC implantation via different routes have now been completed in patients with stroke. Although challenges such as immunogenicity of allo-MSCs and large-scale production strategies need to be overcome, MSCs can be considered as a promising potential therapy for ischemic stroke.