Umbilical cord blood cells for the treatment of preterm white matter injury: Potential effects and treatment options

Abstract

Preterm birth is a global public health problem. A large number of preterm infants survive with preterm white matter injury (PWMI), which leads to neurological deficits, and has multifaceted etiology, clinical course, monitoring, and outcomes. The principal upstream insults leading to PWMI initiation are hypoxia‐ischemia and infection and/or inflammation and the key target cells are late oligodendrocyte precursor cells. Current PWMI treatments are mainly supportive, and thus have little effect in terms of protecting the immature brain or repairing injury to improve long‐term outcomes. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) cells comprise abundant immunomodulatory and stem cells, which have the potential to reduce brain injury, mainly due to anti‐inflammatory and immunomodulatory mechanisms, and also through their release of neurotrophic or growth factors to promote endogenous neurogenesis. In this review, we briefly summarize PWMI pathogenesis and pathophysiology, and the specific properties of different cell types in UCB. We further explore the potential mechanism by which UCB can be used to treat PWMI, and discuss the advantages of and potential issues related to UCB cell therapy. Finally, we suggest potential future studies of UCB cell therapy in preterm infants.

Cord Blood in Correcting Stress-Induced Hypertensive Changes in Rats

“…Досвід використання пуповинної або кордової крові (КК) показав її ефективність при лікуванні цілої низки захворювань [15,16]. Відомо, що КК є альтернативним джерелом гемопоетичних стовбурових клітин, які здатні зменшувати пошкодження головного мозку переважно через протизапальні та імуномодулюючі механізми [17]. З мононуклеарних клітин КК отримані функціонально компетентні CD8 + Т-клітини, специфічні до вірусних антигенів [18].…”

Effect of expansion of human umbilical cord blood CD34 + cells on neurotrophic and angiogenic factor expression and function

“…Although umbilical cord blood is a rich source of HSCs compared to bone marrow and peripheral blood, the number of HSCs obtained from one cord blood sample at term birth may not be sufficient for therapeutic use in regenerative medicine applications, especially in adults and/or where multiple administrations are indicated (Qiu et al 2021). In preclinical studies of neonatal brain injury, multiple doses of UCB-MNCs are more effective than a single dose of cells in reducing long-term neuroinflammation, cerebral tissue damage, and in improving behavioural outcomes (Penny et al 2020).…”