Cell transplantation therapies for spinal cord injury focusing on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: Advances and challenges

Figure 1 Pathophysiology of spinal cord injury and related mechanisms of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell in spinal cord injury. A: The normal spinal cord contains axons wrapped in the myelin sheath, neuron bodies, microglia, fibroblasts, and astrocytes; B: Secondary injuries following primary injury include glial and neuronal apoptosis, axon rupture, inflammatory response, ischemia, spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury, vascular dysfunction, edema, inhibitory microenvironments, excitatory toxicity, and free radical formation; C: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell promote the mechanism of spinal cord injury repair, including neuroprotection, axon growth, myelination, immune regulation, microenvironment regulation, inhibition of scar formation, and promotion of angiogenesis. BMMSCs: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.