Title:The Role of Various Factors in Neural Differentiation of Human Umbilical
Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells with a Special Focus on the Physical Stimulants
Volume: 19
Issue: 2
Author(s): Sajad Seyyedin, Massood Ezzatabadipour and Seyed Noureddin Nematollahi-Mahani*
Affiliation:
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Afzalipour School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman,
Iran
- Neuroscience Research
Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
Keywords:
Mesenchymal stem cells, umbilical cord, neurons, glial cells, cell therapy, physical factors, growth factors, chemical factors, differentiation.
Abstract: Human umbilical cord matrix-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMs) are considered as
ideal tools for cell therapy procedures and regenerative medicine. The capacity of these cells to differentiate
into neural lineage cells make them potentially important in the treatment of various neurodegenerative
diseases. An electronic search was performed in Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and
Google Scholar databases for articles published from January 1990 to March 2022. This review discusses
the current knowledge on the effect of various factors, including physical, chemical and biological stimuli
which play a key role in the differentiation of hUCMs into neural and glial cells. Moreover, the currently
understood molecular mechanisms involved in the neural differentiation of hUCMs under various environmental
stimuli are reviewed. Various stimuli, especially physical stimuli and specifically different
light sources, have revealed effects on neural differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, including
hUCMs; however, due to the lack of information about the exact mechanisms, there is still a need to find
optimal conditions to promote the differentiation capacity of these cells which in turn can lead to significant
progress in the clinical application of hUCMs for the treatment of neurological disorders.