MINI REVIEW article
Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Translational Neuroscience
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1622787
This article is part of the Research TopicNew Strategies for Spinal Cord Injury and Immunotherapy Targeting Novel Programmed Death PathwaysView all 6 articles
Targeting ferroptosis in spinal cord injury through stem cell therapy: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Prospects
Provisionally accepted- Shaoxing Central Hospital, Shaoxing, China
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Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a traumatic neurological disorder with a high incidence and limited clinical treatment options. Ferroptosis, a newly discovered form of programmed cell death, has shown significant research potential in the field of neurological diseases. Stem cells have become an ideal therapeutic option for various diseases due to their multidirectional differentiation potential and paracrine properties. Existing studies have demonstrated that stem cells possess substantial potential in the repair of spinal cord injuries. Recent research has found that stem cell transplantation can improve the pathological process of SCI by regulating the ferroptosis pathway. This review systematically described the molecular mechanisms of ferroptosis in SCI, the biological effects of stem cell therapy for SCI, and the therapeutic potential of stem cell-targeted regulation of ferroptosis. Additionally, we proposed three key research directions: cross-study of ferroptosis signaling pathways and stem cell action mechanisms, optimization strategies for therapeutic stem cells, and multimodal combined treatments based on ferroptosis regulation. This review aimed to provide new theoretical foundations and research perspectives for stem cell therapy in SCI.
Keywords: spinal cord injury, ferroptosis, Stem Cell Therapy, programmed cell death, Neural Repair
Received: 04 May 2025; Accepted: 04 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shen, Wu, Li and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Fang Yu, Shaoxing Central Hospital, Shaoxing, China
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