Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2023, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (9): 1908-1916.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.367836

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New insights into the biological roles of immune cells in neural stem cells in post-traumatic injury of the central nervous system

Ning He1, #, Xing-Jia Mao1, #, Yue-Min Ding2, Tong Zuo3, Ying-Ying Chen4, Lin-Lin Wang1, *   

  1. 1Department of Basic Medicine Sciences, and Department of Orthopaedics of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; 
    2School of Medicine, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China;  3University of Chicago College, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA;  4Department of Basic Medicine Sciences, and Department of Obstetrics of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • Online:2023-09-15 Published:2023-03-06
  • Contact: Lin-Lin Wang, MD, PhD, wanglinlin@zju.edu.cn.
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Nos. 82172527 and 81972138 (to LLW).

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Abstract: Traumatic injuries in the central nervous system, such as traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, are associated with tissue inflammation and the infiltration of immune cells, which simultaneously affect the self-renewal and differentiation of neural stem cells. However, the tissue repair process instigated by endogenous neural stem cells is incapable of restoring central nervous system injuries without external intervention. Recently, resident/peripheral immune cells have been demonstrated to exert significant effects on neural stem cells. Thus, the restoration of traumatic injuries in the central nervous system by the immune intervention in neural stem cells represents a potential therapeutic method. In this review, we discuss the roles and possible mechanisms of immune cells on the self-renewal and differentiation of neural stem cells along with the prognosis of central nervous system injuries based on immune intervention. Finally, we discuss remaining research challenges that need to be considered in the future. Further elucidation of these challenges will facilitate the successful application of neural stem cells in central nervous system injuries.

Key words: B cells, central nervous system injury, macrophages, microglia, neural stem cells, spinal cord injury, T cells, traumatic brain injury