Future Stem Cell Therapy Research Articles

Expansion and differentiation of human neural stem cells on synthesized integrin binding peptide surfaces

The extracellular matrix plays a crucial role in the growth of human neural stem cells (hNSCs) by forming a stem cell niche, both in vitro and in vivo. The demand for defined synthetic substrates has been increasing recently in stem cell research, reflecting the requirements for precise functions and safety concerns in potential clinical approaches. In this study, we tested the adhesion and expansion of one of the most representative hNSC lines, the ReNcell VM Human Neural Progenitor Cell Line, in a pure-synthesized short peptide-based in vitro niche using a previously established integrin-binding peptide array. Spontaneous cell differentiation was then induced using two different in vitro approaches to further confirm the multipotent features of cells treated with the peptides. Twelve different integrin-binding peptides were capable of supporting hNSC adhesion and expansion at varied proliferation rates. In the ReNcell medium-based differentiation approach, cells detached in almost all peptide-based groups, except integrin α5β1 binding peptide. In an altered differentiation process induced by retinoic acid containing neural differentiation medium, cell adhesion was retained in all 12 peptide groups. These peptides also appeared to have varied effects on the differentiation potential of hNSCs towards neurons and astrocytes. Our findings provide abundant options for the development of in vitro neural stem cell niches and will help develop promising tools for disease modeling and future stem cell therapies for neurological diseases.

Stem Cells and Nicotine Exposure: A Growing Concern for Adolescent Health

Nicotine, primarily found in tobacco, exerts a profound impact on stem cells, disrupting their proliferation, differentiation, and migration when exposed at high doses or used chronically. Stem cells hold significant promise in the field of regenerative medicine and disease management, making it crucial to understand how nicotine affects their therapeutic potential. In tandem, a growing epidemic of nicotine addiction among adolescents poses a public health threat, as it not only jeopardizes their well-being but also undermines the efficacy of stem cell-based treatments. This paper reviews the effects of nicotine on various types of stem cells and discusses the alarming rise in adolescent nicotine use, emphasizing the importance of addressing this issue to preserve the future of stem cell therapies.

Stem Cells in Dentistry: Knowledge among the Dental Practitioners of Nepal

Introduction: Dentists are expected to play a major role in advancing the field of stem cell research as well as directing and implementing future stem cell therapies in dentistry. Accordingly, good basic knowledge and a positive attitude toward stem cells and their potential applications are essential among the dentists. Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of knowledge on stem cell among the dental practitioners. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the registered dental practitioners in Nepal. An online questionnaire was created with the help of Google forms between 27 October, 2021 to 22 July, 2022 after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee of a tertiary care center. The questionnaire was designed after reviewing pertinent literatures. Convenience sampling method was used. Data from Google forms were entered in Microsoft Excel version 2016 and were analysed with IBM SPSS v.20. Results: Among the total of 280 responses received, the prevalence of good knowledge about stem cells was found to be 53 (18.93%) (14.34- 23.52, 95% Confidence Interval). Majority of the respondents with good knowledge score were female 41 (77.36%). Almost all of the respondents knew about the term stem cells and its sources. But very few 68 (24.29%) of them knew about the availability of stem cell banks in Nepal. Conclusions: The prevalence of good knowledge about stem cell in dentistry was found to be less than half the sample size. Hence, there is a need to cover stem cells related information in dental curricula in Nepal.

Micropattern‐Based Stem Cell Gym: Mechanical Memory Enhanced Stemness Maintenance of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells and Nerve Regeneration

AbstractDental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) which are derived from the neural crest are promising tools in stem cell therapy in the clinic. However, they tend to lose their multi‐lineage potency spontaneously during long‐term expansion in vitro. A micropattern‐based system is developed to train DPSCs with 1024 µm2 and aspect ratios of 1:2 and 1:4, which enhances their stemness and differentiation potential. This mechanical memory induced by micropattern would also rescue the pluripotency of long‐term expansion DPSCs. Micropatterns remodel the cytoskeleton and nuclear morphology, soften the cells, and induce the mitochondria into an immature state. Micropattern also activates extracellular related kinase, signal transducer, and activator of transcription 3, and inhibits Yes‐associated protein nuclear localization to enhance the stemness of DPSCs. In vivo implantation proves that DPSCs mechanically trained by micropattern could promote nerve regeneration in rats with peripheral nerve injury. A micropattern‐based approach is provided as a stem cell gym that absents exogenous growth factors to enhance the stemness and regenerative properties of DPSCs. It may shed light on future stem cell therapy.

Stem Cell Therapy - Current Scenario, Challenges and Future in India: A Review

This review paper explores the evolving landscape of stem cell therapy in India and globally. Key points included in this review are the historical development of stem cell therapy, diverse sources of stem cells, the current global landscape encompassing research, regenerative medicine, clinical trials, and ethical considerations. India's active involvement in stem cell research, government initiatives, and the cryopreservation of umbilical cord blood stem cells are highlighted. The paper discusses stem cell therapy's potential in addressing ALS, neuroinflammation, and COVID-19. It concludes by emphasizing the promising future of stem cell therapy, highlighting the need for robust clinical trials and ethical considerations. This concise overview provides insights into the state and potential of stem cell therapy in India and worldwide.

State of the Art and Future of Stem Cell Therapy in Ischemic Stroke: Why Don't We Focus on Their Administration?

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, so there is an urgent need to find a therapy for the tragic outcomes of this cerebrovascular disease. Stem cells appeared to be a good solution for many conditions, so different experiments were made to establish stem cells as a feasible therapy for stroke. The aim of this review is to analyze the state of the art of stem cell therapy for stroke and if the route of administration could represent a valid adjusting point for ameliorating the therapy's outcome. To obtain this, we searched the scientific literature of the last 10 years for relevant in vitro and in vivo evidence regarding stem cells' potential in stroke therapy. In vitro evidence points to hypoxia, among the preconditioning strategies, as the most used and probably efficient method to enhance cells qualities, while in vivo results raise the question if it is the type of cells or how they are administrated which can make the difference in terms of efficiency. Unfortunately, despite the number of clinical trials, only a few were successfully concluded, demonstrating how urgent the necessity is to translate pre-clinical results into clinics. Since any type of stem cell seems suitable for therapy, the chosen route of administration corresponds to different engraftment rates, distribution and efficiency in terms of the beneficial effects of stem cells. Intravenous administration was widely used for delivering stem cells into the human body, but recently intranasal administration has given promising results in vivo. It allows stem cells to efficiently reach the brain that was precluded to intravenous administration, so it is worth further investigation.

Panning for gold: Purifying mesencephalic dopaminergic progenitors differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells.

In a recently published study, Xu et al. used two surface markers, CLSTN2 and PTPRO, to generate highly purified donor dopaminergic neurons and achieved stable and predictable therapeutic outcomes by transplantation into the brain of PD animal models (Xu et al., 2022).

Synthetic Biology Technologies And Genetically Engineering Strategies For Enhanced Cell Therapeutics.

Stem cell therapy mainly uses natural stem cells for transplantation, and the use of genetic engineering to optimize stem cell products is a very important process. This article reviews successful gene modification methods in the field of immune cell therapy and summarizes some attempts at stem cell gene editing in current research. Cell bridging is an innovative cutting-edge strategy that includes the specific recognition and signal transduction of artificial receptors. The “off-the-shelf” cell strategies mainly introduce the advantages of allogeneic cell therapy and how to overcome issues such as immunogenicity. Gene regulatory systems allow us to manipulate cells with small molecules to control cellular phenotypes. In addition, we also summarize some important genes that can provide a reference for cell genetic engineering. In conclusion, we summarize a variety of technical strategies for gene editing cells to provide useful ideas and experiences for future stem cell therapy research.Graphical abstract

A consolidated review on stem cell therapy for treatment and management of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of dementia and affects around 50 million people around the globe. AD is diagnosed mainly through imaging techniques and to date only five drugs are approved for management of AD but no promising treatment is available for AD. So in this review, we are focusing on stem cell therapy for AD. This review will cover all stem cells like mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and neural stem cells. Clinical trials of AD have also been discussed. Finally, limitations of stem cells are discussed with ongoing clinical trials, and in the future stem cell therapy can be used for treatment of AD.

Enamel Matrix Derivative Enhances the Odontoblastic Differentiation of Dental Pulp Stem Cells via Activating MAPK Signaling Pathways.

The odontoblastic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) contributes to pulp-dentin regeneration. Enamel matrix derivative (EMD) is considered to be a critical epithelial signal to induce cell differentiation during odontogenesis and has been widely applied to clinical periodontal tissue regeneration. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of EMD on DPSCs proliferation and odontoblastic differentiation, as well as the underlying mechanisms. We conducted in vitro and in vivo researches to get a comprehensive understanding of EMD. In vitro phase: cell proliferation was assessed by a cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay; then, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and staining, alizarin red staining, real-time RT-PCR, and western blot analysis were conducted to determine the odontoblastic potential and involvement of MAPK signaling pathways. In vivo phase: after ensuring the biocompatibility of VitroGel 3D-RGD via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the hydrogel mixture was subcutaneously injected into nude mice followed by histological and immunohistochemical analyses. The results revealed that EMD did not interfere with DPSCs proliferation but promoted the odontoblastic differentiation of DPSCs in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, blocking the MAPK pathways suppressed the EMD-enhanced differentiation of DPSCs. Finally, VitroGel 3D-RGD could well support the proliferation, differentiation, and regeneration of DPSCs. Overall, this study demonstrates that EMD enhances the odontoblastic differentiation of DPSCs through triggering MAPK signaling pathways. The findings provide a new insight into the mechanism by which EMD affects DPSCs differentiation and proposes EMD as a promising candidate for future stem cell therapy in endodontics.

Electromagnetic Fields Generated by the IteraCoil Device Differentiate Mesenchymal Stem Progenitor Cells Into the Osteogenic Lineage.

Rapid advances in mesenchymal stem progenitor cells (MSPCs) have rendered impetus into the area of cell therapy and regenerative medicine. The main promise of future stem cell therapies is their reliance on autologous stem cells derived from adipose tissue, which also includes treatments of bone fractures and degeneration. The effectiveness of different electric devices utilized to reprogram MSPCs toward osteogenic differentiation has provided varying degrees of effectiveness for clinical use. Adipose tissue‐derived MSPCs were flow‐cytometrically characterized and further differentiated into osteoblasts by culturing either in growth medium with pro‐osteogenic supplements or without supplements with alternating electromagnetic field (EMF) generated by IteraCoil. IteraCoil is a multi‐solenoid coil with a specific complex geometry that creates a 3D‐EMF with desired parameters without directly applying electrodes to the cells and tissues. The flow‐cytometric analysis of highly enriched (≥95%) adipose‐derived MSPCs (CD34−, CD73+, CD90+, and CD105+) was utilized for the study. Osteoblasts and chondrocyte differentiations were then assessed by specific staining and quantified using ImageJ (National Institutes of Health). The osteoblastic differentiation of MSPCs cultured in regular medium and exposed to EMF at 0.05 and 1 kHz frequencies was compared with MSPCs cultured in a pro‐osteogenic supplemented medium. In this study, we demonstrated that EMF from IteraCoil might have affected the signaling pathways that induce the osteogenic differentiation of human adipose‐derived MSPCs in the absence of exogenous osteogenic factors. Therefore, EMF‐generated osteogenic differentiation of reprogrammed adipose‐derived autologous MSPCs may treat the loss of osteoblasts and osteoporosis and open new avenues for the development of regenerative cellular therapy. © 2022 Bioelectromagnetics Society.

Non-polar metabolites of green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) potentiate the antidiabetic activity of mesenchymal stem cells in streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats.

Green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are consumed as pods or mature seeds (common beans). The pods were extracted with 95% ethanol and processed to prepare non-polar and polar fractions. Comparing the antihyperglycemic activity of both fractions, non-polar fraction (NPF, 200mgkg-1 day-1 ) lowered blood glucose in streptozotocin diabetic rats by 65% compared to 57% for the polar fraction at the same dose. When NPF treatment was combined with injection of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) a 4.4-fold increase in serum insulin and a 73.6% reduction in blood glucose were observed compared to untreated control. Additionally, a significant decrease in malondialdehyde (76.2%), nitric oxide (68.2%), cholesterol (76.1%), and triglycerides (69.5%) and a 1.75-fold increase in HDL concentrations were observed in the group treated with this combination compared to diabetic animals. Interestingly, NPF increased homing of MSC in pancreas potentiating their antidiabetic activity. Finally, 26 compounds were identified in NPF using LC/MS analysis and four were isolated in pure form. The isolated compounds namely calotroproceryl acetate, fridelin, calotroproceryl A, and stigmasterol showed good inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase with IC50 at 1.93, 1.07, 1.34 and 1.44-1μg/ml, respectively. Additionally, these compounds inhibited α-amylase, albeit at higher concentration, with IC50 at 248, 212, 254, and 155μg/ml for calotroproceryl acetate, fridelin, calotroproceryl A, and stigmasterol, respectively. Our results suggest that green beans extract can potentiate effect of MSC in diabetes directly due to its own antidiabetic effect and indirectly by increasing MSC homing in pancreatic tissues. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: It has been suggested in this study that green beans can improve hyperglycemia, oxidative balance in diabetes, so green beans can be promoted as a healthy nutrient for diabetic patients. Green beans also can enhance homing and differentiation of mesnchymal stem cells in the pancreas for future stem cell therapy of type I diabetes.

Stem Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Myocardial Infarction: How Far Are We Now?

Myocardial infarction is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Poor functional recovery of the myocardium is noticed after an event of myocardial infarction. Researchers and clinicians around the world have been engaged to regenerate the damaged human heart for a long time. Stem cell therapy is an exciting newer therapy to treat cardiovascular diseases.Various types of stem cells have been used to revive the damaged myocardium after myocardial infarction, and they have overall demonstrated safety and moderate efficacy. The specific mechanisms by which these cells help in improving cardiac function are still not completely known. There is growing evidence that intracoronary bone marrow cell transplantation in patients with myocardial infarction beneficially affects the remodeling of the damaged myocardium.Our systematic review article aims to assess the effects and the future of stem cell therapy in patients with myocardial Infarction. We searched articles in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Thirty-one studies that included 2171 patients in total were analyzed. Most of these studies showed stem cell therapy is safe and well tolerated in patients, and modest improvements are seen in left ventricular functions with no major adverse effects. However, some studies showed no positive and clinically significant outcomes. So, more high-quality studies on a larger scale are required to support and confirm its efficacy in remodeling damaged myocardium after myocardial infarction. We should also perform studies to determine the timing of cell delivery that is best suited for stem cell therapy.

Regulation of fractone heparan sulfate composition in young and aged subventricular zone neurogenic niches.

Fractones, specialized extracellular matrix structures found in the subventricular zone (SVZ) neurogenic niche, can capture growth factors, such as basic fibroblast growth factor, from the extracellular milieu through a heparin-binding mechanism for neural stem cell (NSC) presentation, which promotes neurogenesis. During aging, a decline in neurogenesis correlates with a change in the composition of heparan sulfate (HS) within fractones. In this study, we used antibodies that recognize specific short oligosaccharides with varying sulfation to evaluate the HS composition in fractones in young and aged brains. To further understand the conditions that regulate 6-O sulfation levels and its impact on neurogenesis, we used endosulfatase Sulf1 and Sulf2 double knockout (DKO) mice. Fractones in the SVZ of Sulf1/2 DKO mice showed immunoreactivity for the HS epitope, suggesting higher 6-O sulfation. While neurogenesis declined in the aged SVZ of both wild-type and Sulf1/2 DKO mice, we observed a larger number of neuroblasts in the young and aged SVZ of Sulf1/2 DKO mice. Together, these results show that the removal of 6-O-sulfation in fractones HS by endosulfatases inhibits neurogenesis in the SVZ. Our findings advance the current understanding regarding the extracellular environment that is best suited for NSCs to thrive, which is critical for the design of future stem cell therapies.

Significance of Stem Cells in Forensic Dentistry

In forensic point of view and for genetic study, biological samples collected at a crime scene serve as a significant tool, in order to resolve crimes by identifying the person. In some scenarios, individual identification gets masked by chimera persons, where the chimera person cells will have different DNA. The use of biological traces which are recorded by a person’s touch while handling items raises the chance of forensic study system. Therefore, DNA profiling can be obtained from items that were touched, which inturn becomes an useful means for forensic mode of investigation. Chimerism investigations are recognized processes to examine the condition of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) to analyze peripheral blood and recipient’s bone marrow samples for non-malignant and malignant hematologic diseases. In adults, ectomesenchymal cells identified in oral and maxillofacial tissues are promising for future dental stem cell therapies, because the oral tissues area rich source for stem cells. Dental stem cells have various expressive profiles and exist in specific niches. Apart from these applications, this review article highlights dental stem cells significances in forensic dental investigations.

Alternative method for trypsin-based cell dissociation using poly (amino ester) coating and pH 6.0 PBS

To maintain the cellular functions of a stem cells for therapeutic tissue engineering, an advanced cell culture method for safe cell dissociation is necessary. We developed a novel cell dissociation method by applying pH-responsive bioreducible polymer on the surface of tissue culture plates (TCPs). We applied acid-responsive bioreducible poly (amino ester) (PAE) as a new candidate for surface coating method to develop alternative cell dissociation method against conventional enzyme (trypsin-ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA)) treatment. Human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) were cultured on and dissociated from PAE-coated TCPs to compare cell adhesion, cell proliferation, cell viability, and functionality to those of the cells cultured on and dissociated with trypsin-EDTA from normal TCPs without PAE coating. To confirm the in vivo therapeutic efficacy of the hADSCs retrieved from PAE-coated TCPs compared to that of the cells retrieved from normal TCPs with trypsin-EDTA, we induced skin defects at the dorsal area of mice and injected the cells collected from both conditions. With the PAE coating method, cell adhesion, cell proliferation, cell viability, and functionality, especially the angiogenic efficacy, were well preserved when compared to those of the cells treated with trypsin-EDTA. In addition to in vitro results, injecting hADSCs retrieved from PAE-coated TCPs showed similar in vivo angiogenesis and wound closing efficiency compared to those of injecting hADSCs retrieved from normal TCPs with trypsin-EDTA treatment at 2 weeks after the transplantation into mouse skin wound models. We proposed the alternative method for the cell dissociation with pH-responsive bioreducible polymer, PAE. This PAE coating method may lead to the development of alternative cell dissociation method without using enzyme for future regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy.

Molecular investigation of adequate sources of mesenchymal stem cells for cell therapy of COVID-19-associated organ failure.

The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) derived from several sources has been suggested as a major anti‐inflammation strategy during the recent outbreak of coronavirus‐19 (COVID‐19). As the virus enters the target cells through the receptor ACE2, it is important to determine if the MSC population transfused to patients could also be a target for the virus entry. We report here that ACE2 is highly expressed in adult bone marrow, adipose tissue, or umbilical cord‐derived MSC. On the other hand, placenta‐derived MSC express low levels of ACE2 but only in early passages of cultures. MSC derived from human embryonic stem cell or human induced pluripotent stem cells express also very low levels of ACE2. The transcriptome analysis of the MSCs with lowest expression of ACE2 in fetal‐like MSCs is found to be associated in particularly with an anti‐inflammatory signature. These results are of major interest for designing future clinical MSC‐based stem cell therapies for severe COVID‐19 infections.

Fortifying the angiogenic efficacy of adipose derived stem cell spheroids using spheroid compaction

Transplantation of stem cell spheroids to ischemic tissues has been suggested as an effective method for treating ischemic disease, but its therapeutic efficacy varies according to the preparation methods for spheroids. We hypothesized that increasing cell compaction while preparing spheroids could improve the angiogenic efficacy of spheroids. Optimized human adipose derived stem cell (hADSC) spheroids were shown to upregulate cell adhesion molecule, and angiogenic paracrine factors expression with downregulated senescence and apoptotic markers expression. We noted that the low seeding density (1×104 cells (10KS)) had a far lower probability of forming spheroids than higher seeding densities (3×104 cells (30KS) and 1×105 cells (100KS)). The 30KS spheroids demonstrated higher cell density and expression levels of the angiogenic paracrine factor expression compared to those of 100 KS spheroids. 30KS spheroids with additional incubation (A30KS) showed significantly increased angiogenic paracrine factors and cell adhesion molecule expressions with decreased senescence expression compared to those in 30KS spheroids. Transplanting A30KS spheroids showed significantly enhanced therapeutic angiogenesis in mouse hindlimb ischemia model compared to conventional spheroid transplantation. This study successfully defined a set of novel criteria for spheroid culture, which may contribute to future stem cell therapies.

Multifaceted application of nanoparticle-based labeling strategies for stem cell therapy

Stem cell therapy can overcome many unmet clinical challenges that have proven intractable with traditional medicine and treatment strategies because of their strong ability to recover and regenerate injured tissue. Nanoparticle-based labeling agents, in combination with current imaging technologies, have been used to monitor the location, migration, survival, and differentiation of transplanted stem cells in therapeutic processes to fully understand their fates in vivo. In addition, various kinds of functional nanoparticles can exert unique biological effects on stem cells to overcome some problems of current stem cell therapy involving cell homing, survival, retention, and directional differentiation. Moreover, nanoparticle-based theranostic labeling, in which both imaging and treatment modalities are delivered with the stem cells, has emerged as a new strategy to enhance the therapeutic effect of stem cells and shows great potential for future stem cell therapy. The aim of this review is to describe the current roles played by nanoparticles in cell tracking, cell fate regulation, and theranostic labeling in stem cell therapy. Important issues and perspectives on the potential growth of this area are also critically discussed.

SUN-027 Delivery of MSCs with a Hybrid β-sheet Peptide Hydrogel Consisting IGF-1C Domain and D-form Peptide for Acute Kidney Injury Therapy

By providing an appropriate microenvironment, synthetic biomaterials have been progressively successful in stem cell-based tissue regeneration by enhancing the engraftment and survival of transplanted cells. The designs with bioactive motifs to influence cell behavior and with D-form amino acid to modulate scaffold stability will be critical for the development and optimization of self-assembling biomimetic hydrogel scaffolds for stem cell therapy. In this study, we linked naphthalene (Nap) covalently conjugated a short D-form peptide (Nap-DFDFG) to C domain of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1C) as a functional peptide-based scaffold. Our purpose is to provide a functional self-assembling peptide hydrogel with encapsulated human placenta derived mesenchymal stem cells (hP-MSCs) and thereby to enhance the therapeutic efficiency of hP-MSCs in murine acute kidney injury (AKI) model. Our results revealed that a typical β-sheet conformation was confirmed and this self-assembling peptide hydrogel exhibited higher affinity with IGF-1 receptor. Furthermore, this hydrogel could provide a favorable niche for hP-MSCs and thereby ameliorate renal function in an AKI model by promoting cell survival and angiogenesis. In conclusion, by covalently linking the desired functional group to D-form peptide to create a functional hydrogel, this self-assembling β-sheet peptide hydrogel will serve as a promising platform for future tissue-engineering and stem cell therapy. We prepared a supramolecular self-assembly peptide Nap-DFDFG-IGF-1C by standard solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), and profiled the characteristics by circular dichroism (CD) analysis, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and rheological analysis. For real-time tracing the cell fate post transplantation, we introduced dual fusion MSCs which express firefly luciferase and GFP simultaneously. Also we utilized the bioluminescence imaging (BLI) to longitudinally monitor the dynamics of cell retention and renal angiogenesis. Serial experiments have bee done to evaluate the putative therapeutic effect for AKI. We here reported a hybrid self-assembly peptide Nap-DFDFG-IGF-1C. CD analysis revealed the peptide was constrained to a typical β-sheet conformation via a heating-cooling pathway, leading to an enhanced affinity with recombinant human IGF-1 receptor (rhIGF-1R) comfirmed by SPR. A cross-linked nanofibrous structure was observed by TEM and the rheological analysis evidenced its hydrogel property. Our BLI results showed that delivery of MSCs with the IGF-1C hydrogel contribute to an enhanced cell retention and renal angiogenesis, which rsulted in repair and regeneration post AKI. In summary, we reported a cell enhancement strategy with a hybrid β-sheet peptide hydrogel which holds bioactive motif IGF-1C as functional backbone for the first time. This hydrogel favors cell retention, provides a pro-angiogenesis niche for the transplanted cells, and thereby restored the renal architecture and function post AKI. This study introduced a brand-new strategy for integration of self-assembly peptide and stem cell therapy and might shed light into the development of tissue engineering as well as regeneration medicine.