Perspectives on Schwann-like cells derived from bone marrow-mesenchymal stem cells: Advancing peripheral nerve injury therapies

Table 1 Transplantation of Schwann-like cells derived from bone marrow-mesenchymal stem cells in peripheral nerve injuries

Model	Cells/grafts	Method of transdifferentiation	Outcome	Limitations	Ref.
Rat sciatic nerve (12 mm gap)	SLCs (rats). Hollow fiber	Chemical and growth factors	Improvements in motor conduction, sciatic nerve function index, regeneration of the nodes of Ranvier, and remyelination. No tumor formation was detected 6 months post-transplantation	Lack of detailed sensory functional analysis and gene expression evaluation of SLCs and nerve regeneration markers	[35]
Rat sciatic nerve (10 mm gap)	SLCs (humans). Transpermeable tube. Immunosuppressants used	Chemical and growth factors	Improvements in nerve regeneration and functional recovery	Lack of detailed sensory functional analysis, gene expression evaluation of SLCs and nerve regeneration markers, no electroneuromyography, assessed for three weeks	[25]
Rat sciatic nerve (12 mm gap)	SLCs (rats). Chitosan conduits	Neurosphere induction, incubation with growth factors and co-culture	Improvements in remyelination and axonal growth. No significant difference was observed compared to the transplantation of Schwann cells derived from the sciatic nerve	No undifferentiated BM-MSC transplantation group, lack of detailed sensory functional analysis and gene expression evaluation of SLCs and nerve regeneration markers	[26]
Buccal branch of the facial nerve in rabbits (1 cm gap)	SLCs (rabbits). Vein graft	Chemical and growth factors	Acceleration of axonal regeneration and improvement in remyelination	Lack of detailed sensory functional analysis of the facial nerve and gene expression evaluation of SLCs markers	[27]
Rat sciatic nerve (12 mm gap)	SLCs (humans). Chitosan conduits. Immunosuppressants used	Neurosphere induction, incubation with growth factors and co-culture	Improvements in axonal regeneration and myelination	No undifferentiated BM-MSC transplantation group, lack of detailed motor and sensory functional analysis, electroneuromyography, and gene expression evaluation of SLCs and nerve regeneration markers	[24]

The studies are predominantly conducted using laboratory animal models, while there is a lack of research evaluating the regenerative potential of Schwann-like cells derived from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in large animal models. These larger models are particularly relevant for translational studies, as the size of the peripheral nerve in these animals allows for larger lesions, providing more realistic data on the nerve regeneration process, which can be applied to human treatments[4]. SLCs: Schwann-like cells; BM-MSC: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell.