Cell Therapy for Diabetic Neuropathy Using Adult Stem or Progenitor Cells

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Ji Woong Han, Emory University; Min Yoong Sin, Emory University; Young-sup Yoon, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2013-04-16
• Publisher: Korean Diabetes Association
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2013 Han et al.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://synapse.koreamed.org/DOIx.php?id=10.4093/dmj.2013.37.2.91
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Diabetes & Metabolism Journal
• ISSN: 2233-6079
• Volume: 2013
• Issue: 37
• Start Page: 91
• End Page: 105
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported in part by NIH grants 1DP3DK094346; HHSN268201000043C (Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology Award); NSF-EBICS (Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems) grant, CBET-0939511 and ACTSI pilot grant (PHS grant UL1 RR025008 from the CTSA program, NIH, and NCRR).
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Biology, Cell

Abstract

Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is the most common and disabling complication of diabetes that may lead to foot ulcers and limb amputations. Despite widespread awareness of DN, the only effective treatments are glucose control and pain management. A growing body of evidence suggests that DN is characterized by reduction of vascularity in peripheral nerves and deficiency in neurotrophic and angiogenic factors. Previous studies have tried to introduce neurotrophic or angiogenic factors in the form of protein or gene for therapy, but the effect was not significant. Recent studies have shown that bone marrow (BM)-derived stem or progenitor cells have favorable effects on the repair of cardiovascular diseases. Since these BM-derived stem or progenitor cells contain various angiogenic and neurotrophic factors, these cells have been attempted for treating experimental DN, and turned out to be effective for reversing various manifestations of experimental DN. These evidences suggest that cell therapy, affecting both vascular and neural components, can represent a novel therapeutic option for treatment of clinical DN.