Table 1.

Effects of stem cell-based tissue-engineered nerve grafts

Cell	Scaffold	Effect	Reference
Neural crest cells derived from human embryonic stem cells	Tubular conduit manufactured from trimethylene carbonate ε-caprolactone block-copolymer	Stimulate sciatic nerve regeneration and the expression of repair-related genes	[34]
Neural stem cells	Neurotrophin-3-incorporated hyaluronic acid–collagen conduit	Facilitate re-innervations of damaged facial nerve	[40]
Neural stem cells	Nerve growth factor-incorporated chitosan/collagen conduit	Increase BrdU-positive cells in bridge grafting, promote nerve repair	[41]
Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells	Silk fibroin-based scaffold	Accelerate axonal growth, increase gene expressions of S100, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, ciliary neurotrophic factor and basic fibroblast growth factor	[49]
Bone marrow stromal cells	Silicone tube	Improve walking behavior, reduce loss of gastrocnemius muscle weight and electromyographic magnitude, increase the number of regenerating axons within the tube	[53]
Bone marrow stromal cell- derived Schwann cells	Trans-permeable tube filled with three-dimensional collagen	Is safe and effective for accelerating the regeneration of transected axons and for functional recovery of injured nerves	[56]
Autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells	Chitosan/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold	Exhibit more efficient nerve recovery in locomotive activity observation, electrophysiological assessments and FluoroGold retrograde tracing tests	[57]
Undifferentiated and differentiated adipose-derived stem cells	Silicone conduit containing type I collagen gel	Exhibit functional recovery of facial nerve regeneration close to that in autologous nerve graft positive controls	[58]
Schwann cell-like differentiated adipose-derived stem cells	Fibrin conduit	Improve axonal and fiber diameter, reduce muscle atrophy, evoke potentials at the level of the gastrocnemius muscle and regeneration of motor neurons	[63]
Induced pluripotent stem cells	Poly l-lactide and poly ε-caprolactone composed, two-layered bioabsorbable polymer tube	Show more vigorous axonal regeneration, faster recovery of motor function, assessed by the print length factor, and faster recovery of sensory function assessed by the time of foot withdrawal reflex	[79]
Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural crest-like cells	Silicone tube	Enhance myelination and angiogenesis, promote axonal regrowth and motor functional recovery	[82]