Table 3.
Recent studies related to the homing capabilities of MSCs into the IVD.
| Species | Study Type | Cell Types | Outcomes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human | in vitro | BM MSCs | Growth factors and chemokines such as IGF-1, PDGF-AB, RANTES, and SDF-1 showed a chemoattractive effect on MSCs. | [95] |
| Bovine IVDs and human MSCs | ex vivo | BM MSCs | An intradiscal injectable hydrogel-based on hyaluronan-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and supplemented with SDF-1 showed a chemoattractive effect on MSCs. | [97] |
| Bovine IVDs and human MSCs | ex vivo | BM MSCs | The concentration of RANTES was significantly elevated in the medium of induced degenerated IVDs; RANTES may be a key chemoattractant for MSCs in the IVD. | [98] |
| Bovine IVDs and human MSCs | ex vivo | BM MSCs | MSC subpopulations positive for CD146 were associated with a greater homing potential but produced a weaker regenerative response than CD146-negative MSCs. | [99] |
| Murine model with human MPSCs | in vivo | Umbilical cord blood MPSCs | Intravenously injected MSCs showed limited ability to home into a degenerated IVD, but they upregulated GAG and ACAN. | [100] |
| Murine | in vivo | BM MSCs | Intravenously injected MSCs significantly decreased IVD herniation and induced an immunomodulatory effect. | [101] |
| Murine | in vivo | BM MSCs | Only a limited number of intravenously injected MSCs migrated to a degenerated IVD. However, the more serious the injury, the more cells were recruited. | [92] |
| Bovine IVDs and human MSCs | ex vivo | BM MSCs | Greater MSC homing occurred with degenerated IVDs than healthy samples, and IGF-1-transduced MSCs significantly increased the proteoglycan synthesis. | [93] |
| Bovine IVDs and human MSCs | ex vivo | BM MSCs | MSCs seeded on the endplate’s surface of nucleotomized IVDs migrated into the NP and stimulated ECM production and growth factors. | [104] |
| Bovine and human | ex vivo | BM MSCs | Homed MSCs increased the fraction of Tie2-positive IVD cells, enhanced IVD cell proliferation, and reduced the fraction of dead cells in the IVD. | [105] |
Abbreviations: IVD = intervertebral disc, BM = bone marrow, MSC = mesenchymal stromal cells, MPSC = multipotent stem cells, IGF-1 = insulin-like growth factor 1, PDGF-AB = platelet-derived growth factor -AB, SDF-1 = stromal cell-derived factor 1, CD146 = cluster of differentiation 146, GAG = glycosaminoglycan, ACAN = aggrecan, ECM = extracellular matrix, and Tie2 = angiopoietin-1 receptor.