s A Hypothesis for Regenerative Therapy for Neuronal Disease: Stem Cells within Artificial Niche

Stem cells, which maintain self-renewal behavior and produce multiple mature cells, are recognized to be the best cell source for transplantation in regenerative medicine. Recently, stem-cell based transplantation has become an important pre-clinical attempt for neuronal injury and degeneration diseases, such as spinal cord injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Alzheimer disease. However, the poor survival rate of stem cells and only a limited number of induced neurons from the cells were found in pre-clinical trials. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a rational procedure for stem cells transplantation. This review summarizes recent promising progress in the investigation of stem cell and biomaterials, and hypothesizes a useful transplant approach for stem cell therapy in neuronal diseases.