Spinal cord injury remains a scientific and therapeutic challenge with great cost to individuals and society. The goal of research in this field is to find a means of restoring lost function. Recently we have seen considerable progress in understanding the injury process and the capacity of CNS neurons to regenerate, as well as innovations in stem cell biology. This presents an opportunity to develop effective transplantation strategies to provide new neural cells to promote the formation of new neuronal networks and functional connectivity. Past and ongoing clinical studies have demonstrated the safety of cell therapy, and preclinical research has used models of spinal cord injury to better elucidate the underlying mechanisms through which donor cells interact with the host and thus increase long-term efficacy. While a variety of cell therapies have been explored, we focus here on the use of neural progenitor cells obtained or derived from different sources to promote connectivity in sensory, motor and autonomic systems.

脊髓损伤仍然是一个科学和治疗挑战，给个人和社会带来巨大损失。该领域的研究目标是找到恢复丧失功能的方法。最近，我们在了解中枢神经系统神经元的损伤过程和再生能力以及干细胞生物学方面的创新方面取得了长足的进展。这为开发有效的移植策略提供了机会，以提供新的神经细胞，促进新神经元网络和功能连接的形成。过去和正在进行的临床研究已经证明了细胞疗法的安全性，临床前研究已使用脊髓损伤模型来更好地阐明供体细胞与宿主相互作用的潜在机制，从而提高长期疗效。虽然已经探索了多种细胞疗法，但我们在此重点关注使用从不同来源获得或衍生的神经祖细胞来促进感觉、运动和自主系统的连接。