• Huan Li, Jiaxin Zhang, Kewen Ma, Jie Ji, Chengfei An, Hailun Jiang, Hui Qu, Ruohan Tang, Xuesong Ren, Yuzheng Du, and Qi Zhao.
• First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2025 Jan 10; 104 (2): e41075e41075.

AbstractCerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) constitutes a significant etiology of exacerbated cerebral tissue damage subsequent to intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular mechanical thrombectomy in patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke. The treatment of CIRI has been extensively investigated through a multitude of clinical studies. Acupuncture has been demonstrated to be effective in treating CIRI. Recent 5 years studies have identified potential mechanisms of acupuncture, including regulation of autophagy, promotion of angiogenesis, inhibition of inflammation and apoptosis, modulation of cell activation, neuroplasticity regulation, and promotion of nerve regeneration. The transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can effectively suppress apoptosis, modulate immune responses, and enhance the proliferation and migration of endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs), thereby compensating for the NSCs deficiency following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. The combination of acupuncture and MSCs transplantation demonstrates superiority over individual treatments, significantly enhancing the survival rate of MSCs. Moreover, it facilitates the secretion of various cytokines to promote their homing and differentiation into functional neurons, thereby providing a novel approach for clinical treatment of CIRI.Copyright © 2025 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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