Spinal cord injury research different types of cells. The hope is that stem cells transplanted into an injured area of the spinal cord will allow neuroregeneration. Types of cells being researched for use in SCI include embryonic stem cells, neural stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, olfactory ensheathing cells, Schwann cells, activated macrophages, and induced pluripotent stem cells. When stem cells are injected in the area of damage in the spinal cord, they secrete neurotrophic factors, and these factors help neurons and blood vessels to grow, thus helping repair the damage. It is also necessary to recreate an environment in which stem cells will grow.
Spinal cord injury research injured spinal cord will replace killed neurons and oligodendrocytes and secrete factors that support growth. However they may fail to differentiate into neurons when transplanted, either remaining undifferentiated or becoming glia. A phase I/II clinical trials implanting NSCs into humans with SCI began in 2011 and ended in June 2015. Mesenchymal stem cells do not need to come from fetuses, so avoid difficulties around ethics; they come from tissues including bone marrow, adipose tissue, the umbilical cord. They are thought to be pluripotent. Unlike other types of stem cells, mesenchymal cells do not present the threat of tumor formation or