Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition for which, to date, no effective clinical intervention has been found. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are emerging as possible cell-based therapy for many brain-related pathologies – including SCI – although the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind their effect are still quite unclear. In this paper, published on Scientific Reports, Katherine A. Ruppert and colleagues tried to administer MSC-derived endovescicles, which are thought to deliver paracrine regenerative factors, to rats undergoing spinal cord contusion.
The administration of endovescicles resulted, in lesioned rats, in reduced spinal cord neuroinflammation (by shutting down microglia and astrocytes), improved locomotor recovery and somato-sensory functions.
Original Source: Scientific Reports