Stem Cell Development

Stem cells have the potential to treat a wide variety of diseases, therefore, understanding the physiological mechanisms regulating stem cells and their molecular transitions is critical in regenerative medicine, cancer research, and cellular biology. “During the acute phase of injury, factors that are released from damaged tissues recruit blood cells and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to the injury site.

Those signals are required to recruit MSCs with high efficiency, which is critical for improving the clinical benefits of MSCs. However, in a variety of clinical conditions, MSCs are administered to damaged tissues at the subchronic or chronic phases of injury, in which the migratory signals for MSCs may be minimal or absent. Thus, exogenous stimuli are necessary to recruit infused MSCs into subchronic or chronic phases of injury for high efficacy of MSC therapy.

Evidence shows that electrical stimulation (ES) induces the migration and stimulation of adult cells, including stem cells, improving clinical benefits. In an animal model of spinal cord injury, application of an electrical field (EF) resulted in functional improvement. It has been shown that damaged tissue and wounds generate naturally-occurring endogenous electric fields (EFs) plays a significant role in guiding cell migration. In vitro many cell types respond to applied EFs strengths comparable to endogenous wound EFs in vivo. With the aim of developing novel techniques to guide the migration of stem cells, we tested whether the implanted pulse generator, normally used in deep brain stimulation, directs the migration of MSC cells. Cell motility was assessed by using the deep brain stimulation system. Obtained data could be used as a first step in establishing efficient stem cells therapy for brain injury and neurodegenerative disorders” (NIH).