Key Takeaways & Executive Findings
- •• Stem cells belong to the category of kidney essence, guiding treatment of kidney essence deficiency diseases. • Acupuncture activates multiple signaling pathways and regulates growth factor expression to promote stem cell proliferation and differentiation. • Acupuncture intervention can enhance the therapeutic effect of stem cells by promoting their proliferation and differentiation. • Challenges remain in establishing stem cell engineering standards and innovating acupuncture therapy for clinical translation.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Stem cells have the potential for self-renewal and multi-directional differentiation, which can enhance tissue repair through direct differentiation or paracrine and immunomodulatory microenvironments. Acupuncture can promote the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells through multi-pathway synergy, which expands the application range of acupuncture. OBJECTIVE: To review the types of stem cells and their differentiation potential, and to explore the role and mechanism of acupuncture in promoting stem cell proliferation and differentiation. METHODS: Articles published before March 2025 were searched in PubMed and CNKI databases using English search terms 'Electroacupuncture, Acupuncture, Neural stem cells, Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, Adipose mesenchymal stem cells' and Chinese search terms '电针, 针刺, 神经干细胞, 骨髓间充质干细胞, 脂肪间充质干细胞'. Literature related to acupuncture promoting stem cell proliferation and differentiation was included, while irrelevant content was excluded. Finally, 76 articles were selected for analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Stem cells belong to the category of kidney essence, and stem cells and kidney essence play a synergistic role, which can be used to guide the treatment of diseases with kidney essence deficiency, explaining modern medicine with traditional Chinese medicine theory. (2) Acupuncture can activate multiple signaling pathways and regulate growth factor expression to promote the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous or exogenous stem cells, providing new ideas for clinical treatment. (3) Although acupuncture plays an important role in stem cell proliferation and differentiation, it also faces many challenges in application; the establishment of stem cell engineering standards and the innovative development of acupuncture therapy are the primary prerequisites for in-depth exploration of the combined mechanism of acupuncture and stem cell therapy, ensuring the stability and efficiency of treatment effects.
1. Introduction
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with self-renewal capacity and multi-directional differentiation potential. Stem cell therapy involves using stem cells from various sources to repair, replace, or reconstruct cells, tissues, and organs through rapid proliferation and differentiation, restoring normal function [1]. Stem cells are widely used in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and other emerging fields [2-3]. They have been applied in cardiovascular diseases, digestive system diseases, liver diseases, arthritis, tumors, and other areas [1]. Stem cells can also reduce immune reactions caused by organ transplantation and promote wound healing [1,4]. The three essential elements of tissue engineering are seed cells, scaffold materials, and growth factors, which together can construct artificial tissues or organs in vivo or in vitro. As seed cells for tissue engineering, stem cells are still limited by sources, expansion, and low differentiation efficiency [1,5].
In the field of acupuncture research, DU Yuanhao et al. [6] first studied the disease spectrum of acupuncture and moxibustion, identifying 532 indications across 16 systems, with definite efficacy for 68 diseases, certain efficacy for 216 diseases, and requiring further observation for 235 diseases. LU et al. [7] summarized evidence and published in BMJ Open, improving the clinical evidence map of acupuncture therapy in the Epistemonikos database, covering 77 diseases in 12 disease areas, with an evidence matrix of 1,402 trials and 138,995 patients. With the rapid development of acupuncture, expanding its application scope and achieving greater clinical effects have significant scientific and clinical value.
In recent years, experimental explorations of traditional Chinese medicine regulating stem cell differentiation have achieved certain results, opening directions for stem cell treatment of diseases and providing new ideas for TCM treatment of related diseases [5]. Acupuncture, as an important component of TCM, can not only restore body homeostasis by regulating the neuro-endocrine-immune system, but also provide a favorable microenvironment for the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous stem cells [8], and promote the proliferation, migration, and directed differentiation of exogenous stem cells in vivo [9].
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LI Wenfang, DONG Mengwei, JIN Haizhu, YANG Wanpeng, BA Te, NAN Nan, LIU Yang, HAO Huiqin (2026). Mechanism of acupuncture regulating proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research. https://doi.org/10.12307/2026.21361
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does acupuncture regulate stem cell proliferation and differentiation?
Acupuncture activates multiple signaling pathways and regulates growth factor expression, promoting the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous or exogenous stem cells.
What types of stem cells are discussed in the article?
The article discusses neural stem cells, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, and adipose mesenchymal stem cells.
What is the significance of stem cells in traditional Chinese medicine?
Stem cells are considered to belong to the category of kidney essence, and their synergistic role can guide the treatment of kidney essence deficiency diseases.
What are the challenges in combining acupuncture and stem cell therapy?
Challenges include establishing stem cell engineering standards and innovating acupuncture therapy to ensure stable and efficient treatment effects.
What is the clinical potential of acupuncture in stem cell therapy?
Acupuncture can enhance the therapeutic effect of stem cells by promoting their proliferation and differentiation, providing new ideas for clinical treatment.
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