Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Therapeutic Mechanisms for Stroke

Due to aging of the world’s population, stroke has become increasingly prevalent, leading to a rise in socioeconomic burden. In the recent past, stroke research and treatment have become key scientific issues that need urgent solutions, with a sharp focus on stem cell transplantation, which is known to treat neurodegenerative diseases related to traumatic brain injuries, such as stroke. Indeed, stem cell therapy has brought hope to many stroke patients, both in animal and clinical trials. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are most commonly utilized in biological medical research, due to their pluripotency and universality. MSCs are often obtained from adipose tissue and bone marrow, and transplanted via intravenous injection. Therefore, this review will discuss the therapeutic mechanisms of MSCs and extracellular vehicles (EVs) secreted by MSCs for stroke, such as in attenuating inflammation through immunomodulation, releasing trophic factors to promote therapeutic effects, inducing angiogenesis, promoting neurogenesis, reducing the infarct volume, and replacing damaged cells.