ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters as emerging targets in modulation of neural stem cells behavior in neurodegenerative diseases and cell therapy benefits

Abstract

Increasing incidence of central nervous system (CNS) disorders has become a major challenge for both basic and clinical scientific society to develop novel therapeutic models for treatment. The knowledge of stem cells has added a new dimension in the research towards finding more appropriate targets responsible for the disease fate determination. As stem cell research is progressing day by day in routine research laboratories there is great hope to find suitable therapeutic targets for complete cure of the CNS disorders. Discovery of ABC transporters in animal tissues has emerged as new spot for several disease prognosis and therapeutic target. ABC transporters are membrane proteins expressed in various organs like liver, kidney, blood-brain barrier, blood-testis barrier etc. It is involved in various important cellular processes such as absorption, distribution and excretion of drugs, xenobiotics and endogenous compounds showing their role in tissue defense and organ regeneration. The current review explains about the role of ABC transporters in CNS pathogenesis and defense adding stem cells therapeutic strategies.