Effects and Mechanisms of Acupuncture Combined with Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation on Neural Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury: Progress and Prospects

Table 3

Effects of the combination of acupuncture and MSC implantation on spinal cord injury and their mechanisms.

Study	Intervention & acupuncture parameters	Control intervention	Effect indicators	Comparison of effects between groups	Mechanism index
[78]	MSCs ( viable cells/mL), EA (Ex-B2; , , 20 minutes, 14 days), MSCs+EA	PBS group	Combined behavioral score↑	BMSC+acupuncture > acupuncture > BMSC > PBS	Differentiation of BMSC into neuronal cells↑, NSE↑, GFAP↑
[77]	MSCs ( viable cells/mL)+EA (GV1, GV2, GV6, GV9; 60 Hz for 1.05 s and 2 Hz for 2.85 s, ≤1 mA, 20 minutes), MSCs+EA	Sham-control; Op-control	BBB locomotion test↑, differentiation of MSCs↑, regeneration of nerve fibers↑	MSCs+EA > EA > MSCs > control	GFAP↓, CSPGs↓
[81]	MSCs ( cells/mL)+EA (T9, T11; 39 A/h, 20 Hz, 15 minutes, twice a day), MSCs+EA	Normal group	Functional deficits↑, axonal regeneration↑	MSCs+EA > MSCs > EA > normal	GFAP↓, CSPGs↓, G-CSF↑, BDNF↑, VEGF↑, IL-6↑
[83]	MSCs ( cells/μL, 5 μL)+EA (GV1, GV2, GV6, GV9; 60 Hz for 1.05 s and 2 Hz for 2.85 s, once every other day, 7 weeks), MSCs+EA	Op-control	Axonal regeneration↑, partial locomotor functional↑	MSCs+EA > MSCs > EA > Op-control	NT-3↑, cAMP level↑, 5-HT↑, CGRP-positive nerve fibers↑
[85]	TrkC-MSCs ( cells/μL, 5 μL)+EA (GV6, GV9; 60 Hz for 1.05 s and 2 Hz for 2.85 s, ≤1 mA, 20 minutes), MSCs+EA	PBS group	Remyelination↑, functional↑	TrkC-MSCs+EA > MSCs+EA > TrkC-MSCs > MSCs	NT-3↑
[84]	MSCs ( cells/mL, 5 mL)+EA (GV9, GV6, GV2, GV1; 60 Hz for 1.05 s and 2 Hz for 2.85 s, 1 mA, 20 minutes); MSCs+EA	Normal group	BBB locomotion test↑	MSCs+EA > EA > MSCs > Op-control	Endogenous NT-3↑, 5-HT-positive nerve fibers↑

Abbreviations: BMSCs: bone marrow stromal cells; PBS group: PBS injection in the injured area; Ex-B2: Jiaji; PBS: phosphate-buffered saline; GV1: Changqiang; GV2: Yaoshu; GV6: Jizhong; GV9: Zhiyang; MSCs: mesenchymal stem cells; Sham-control: received a laminectomy without spinal cord transection; Op-control: operated control received a spinal cord transection only without any treatments; GFAP: glial fibrillary acidic protein; BBB: Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan; CSPGs: chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans; normal group: normal rats; G-CSF: granulocyte colony-stimulating factor; BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor; VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor; IL-6: interleukin-6; NT-3: neurotrophin-3.