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BACKGROUND: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which often leads to the death of neurons in the brain and spinal cord. The pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is extremely complex, with high refractory rate and mortality rate. There are only two kinds of drugs for its treatment, so it is urgent to develop new treatment methods to improve the prognosis of patients. OBJECTIVE: To review the mechanism of Chinese medicine and mesenchymal stem cells regulating the immune response in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. METHODS: “Traditional Chinese medicine, medical stem cells, ALS, immune response” were Chinese and English search terms. Articles were retrieved from WanFang, CNKI, PubMed, Web of Science and other databases from 2010 to 2023. Finally, 69 articles were included for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The article summarizes in detail the five mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine regulating the immune response in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: mainly including the promotion of expression of closed zone protein-1 and closed protein-5 by traditional Chinese medicine such as borneol and astragaloside IV to rebuild the integrity of the blood central nervous system barrier. Fufangteng Mixture can regulate the receptor molecules on the surface of the natural killer cells to inhibit their autotoxicity. The complement system factors such as Scutellaria barbata and patchouli can inhibit their abnormal activation. Tripterygium wilfordii and Uncaria rhynchophylla inhibit the activation of microglia by mediating the production of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 attenuated inducible nitric oxide synthase. Zuogui Pill and Trichosanthes kirilowii Root promote the expression of interleukin-10 and regulate T cells to improve the immune environment. (2) Through existing research, five mechanisms of mesenchymal stem cells regulating the immune response in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have been summarized, mainly including reducing the expression of aquaporin 4 and reducing endothelial nitric oxide synthase signal transduction to repair the integrity of the immune barrier; releasing indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, prostaglandin E2 and other factors to resist natural killer cell toxicity; secretion factor H interferes with the activity of invertase and inhibits abnormal activation of the complement system; regulating the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 system axis or secreting transforming growth factors β, which can change the phenotype of microglia and inhibit its activity by other ways; increasing the expression of interleukin-10 or activating the STATS phosphorylation pathway to restore T cell function. (3) At present, there are few studies on the combination of traditional Chinese medicine and mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Relevant research reports have shown that Jiweiling Injection can promote stem cell proliferation and differentiation and that Buyang Huanwu decoction combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can significantly improve the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. In the future, further exploration is needed to explore the synergistic treatment effect of both on refractory amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Ischemic stroke is one of the main causes of death and long-term disability, and the incidence is still rising year by year, seriously affecting the quality of life. Blood-brain barrier injury is an important pathological process that leads to a poor prognosis of cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury. However, due to the limited treatment methods and limitations of multiple factors, it is urgent to find new treatment methods to repair blood-brain barrier injury. OBJECTIVE: To review the relevant mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in regulating the blood-brain barrier after cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury, to further explore new ways to protect the blood-brain barrier and provide assistance for clinical treatment. METHODS: The keywords were “traditional Chinese medicine, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, blood-brain barrier, cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury” in Chinese and English. WanFang, CNKI, PubMed, and Web of Science databases from 2012 to 2022 were retrieved for articles regarding the related mechanism of the blood-brain barrier damage and the related mechanism of Chinese medicine combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in regulating the blood-brain barrier. The obsolete and unqualified articles were excluded and 97 articles were included for analysis and summary. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The physiological structure of the blood-brain barrier and the pathological changes of the blood-brain barrier structure after cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury were combed. (2) This paper summarized the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in regulating the blood-brain barrier after cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury, including regulating the expression of tight junction protein, inhibiting the activity of aquaporin-4 and matrix metalloproteinase-9, promoting angiogenesis, inhibiting the release of inflammatory mediators, and regulating exosomes. (3) It is concluded that traditional Chinese medicine combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can improve the permeability of the damaged blood-brain barrier and provide assistance for clinical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Neural stem cells have the effect of repairing, replacing damaged nerve cells, stimulating neurogenesis, rebuilding cell circuits, inhibiting apoptosis, and have shown a good therapeutic effect in the study of Alzheimer’s disease. Traditional Chinese medicine also has significant efficacy on regulating the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells and improving nerve cell viability and cell survival. OBJECTIVE: To review the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine regulating neural stem cells in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, so as to provide a reference for the research and treatment of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease. METHODS: The articles on Wanfang, CNKI, PubMed, Web of Science and other databases about neural stem cell regulated by traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease from 2010 to 2022 were searched, with “neural stem cells, traditional Chinese medicine, Alzheimer’s disease” as the key words in Chinese and English. The outdated and repetitive viewpoints were excluded, and the retrieved articles were analyzed and sorted out, and a total of 121 articles were included for analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The definition and pathogenesis of neural stem cells and Alzheimer’s disease were sorted out. (2) The mechanism of action of traditional Chinese medicine in regulating neural stem cells in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease was summarized, mainly including promoting the proliferation of neural stem cells, improving the microenvironment in the brain, inhibiting the apoptosis of nerve cells, inducing neural stem cell differentiation into neurons, improving neuroinflammation, and regulating vascular nerve units. (3) Through the existing research, the relevant factors and signaling pathways of traditional Chinese medicine to regulate neural stem cells in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease were summarized, such as Nestin protein, microtubuleassociated protein, cerebrogenic neurotrophic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and Notch signal pathway, P13k/Akt signaling pathway, brain-derived neurotrophic factor/TrkB signaling pathway, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. It may provide a relevant reference for the future research on new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and new clinical treatment methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]