Mechanism of acupuncture regulating proliferation and differentiation of stem cells

Li Wenfang; Dong Mengwei; Jin Haizhu; Yang Wanpeng; Ba Te; Nan Nan; Liu Yang; Hao Huiqin

doi:10.12307/2026.391

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 related to acupuncture to promote stem cell proliferation and differentiation published from inception to March 2025 were searched on PubMed and CNKI databases,with"electroacupuncture,acupuncture,neural stem cells,bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells,adipose mesenchymal stem cells"as Chinese and English search terms.After excluding content unrelated to the topic,76 articles were finally selected for inductive analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Stem cells belong to the category of kidney essence,and stem cells play a synergistic role with kidney essence,which can be used to guide the treatment of kidney essence deficiency disease,and explain modern medicine with traditional Chinese medicine theory.(2)Acupuncture can activate a variety of signaling pathways and regulate the expression of growth factors,thereby promoting the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous or exogenous stem cells,and 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 the application process.The establishment of stem cell engineering standards and the innovative development of acupuncture therapy are the primary prerequisites and important means to deeply explore the mechanism of action of acupuncture and stem cell therapy combination therapy,so as to ensure the stability and efficiency of the treatment effect.