Figure 1.

Treatments of SCI with pluripotent and reprogrammed cells. Patient- or donor-derived somatic cells can be reprogrammed into iPSC, which can then be differentiated into neural cells for transplantation to restore function in patients with SCI. PSC derived from embryos or oocytes are an alternative source of neural cells for therapy. Direct reprogramming of somatic cells to neural cells (without passing through a pluripotent state) has also been achieved and could be used for SCI treatment. Several mechanisms for neural cell-mediated repair have been suggested, such as cell replacement, the release of immunomodulatory and trophic factors, regeneration and remyelination of axons, and/or reduction of glial scarring. Created with BioRender.com (last accessed on 15 November 2021).