Advances in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases: Perspectives for combination of stem cells with neurotrophic factors

Table 3 Combination therapy of stem cells with neurotrophic factors in Huntington's disease

Cell types	Neurotrophic factors	Study design and outcome	Ref.
MSCs	BDNF; NGF	BM-MSCs were genetically engineered to overexpress BDNF and/or NGF, and were then injected into the striata of 4-mo-old YAC128 transgenic and wild-type mice to determine the effects on motor function. Transplantation of MSCs-BDNF may slowdown neurodegenerative processes and provide behavioral sparing in the YAC128 mouse model of HD.	Dey et al[79], 2010
MSCs	BDNF	MSCs-BDNF were intrastriatially transplanted into YAC128 and R6/2 transgenic (immune-suppressed HD model) mice. MSCs-BDNF transplantation reduced anxiety, decreased striatal atrophy in the YAC128 mice and prolonged the mean lifespan and increased neurogenesis of the R6/2 mice.	Pollock et al[80], 2016
ESCs-derived NPCs	BDNF	ESCs-derived BDNF-overexpressing NPCs were transplanted into a quinolinic acid-lesioned model and two transgenic mouse lines (R6/2 and N171-82Q). NPCs-BDNF had a significant effect on motor function recovery in quinolinic acid-lesioned mice, while the genetic mouse model had only slight improvement. Adult neurogenesis was preserved in a BDNF-dependent manner.	Zimmermann et al[81], 2016

BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; BM-MSCs: Bone marrow-mesenchymal stem cells; ESCs: Embryonic stem cells; HD: Huntington's disease; MSCs: Mesenchymal stem cells; NGF: Nerve growth factor; NPCs: Neural progenitors.