Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Feb 26, 2025; 17(2): 98693
Published online Feb 26, 2025. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v17.i2.98693
Stem cell therapy: A promising therapeutic approach for skeletal muscle atrophy
Ying-Jie Wang, Ze-Hao Chen, Yun-Tian Shen, Ke-Xin Wang, Yi-Min Han, Chen Zhang, Xiao-Ming Yang, Bing-Qian Chen
Ying-Jie Wang, Ze-Hao Chen, Yun-Tian Shen, Ke-Xin Wang, Chen Zhang, Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education, Nantong University, Nantong 226000, Jiangsu Province, China
Yi-Min Han, Medical College, Nantong University, Nantong 226000, Jiangsu Province, China
Xiao-Ming Yang, Co-Innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Jiangsu Clinical Medicine Center of Tissue Engineering and Nerve Injury Repair, Nantong University, Nantong 226000, Jiangsu Province, China
Xiao-Ming Yang, Research and Development Center for E-Learning, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100816, China
Bing-Qian Chen, Department of Orthopaedics, Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Changshu 215500, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Ying-Jie Wang and Ze-Hao Chen.
Author contributions: Wang YJ and Chen ZH contributed equally to write the paper and are co-first authors of this manuscript; Shen YT modified the manuscript; Wang KX, Han YM, Zhang C, and Yang XM provided data; Chen BQ designed the review and were responsible for the final proofreading; and all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Supported by Suzhou Science and Technology Development Planning Project, No. SYW2024048; National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81901933; and Major Natural Science Research Projects in Universities of Jiangsu Province, No. 24KJA310007.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Bing-Qian Chen, MD, Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, No. 1 Shuyuan Street, Changshu 215500, Jiangsu Province, China. cbq0433@suda.edu.cn
Received: July 4, 2024
Revised: December 9, 2024
Accepted: January 23, 2025
Published online: February 26, 2025
Processing time: 234 Days and 22.5 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Muscle atrophy can exert a considerable influence on the quality of life of patients. The intricate molecular mechanisms of muscle atrophy give rise to a scarcity of effective treatment options. Recent advancements in stem cell therapy imply that it is a promising solution to this problem. This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms of muscle atrophy, presents current treatment strategies with a focus on mesenchymal stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and their derivatives. Finally, it discusses the challenges encountered in the clinical application of these stem cells.