Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Aug 26, 2025; 17(8): 111497
Published online Aug 26, 2025. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v17.i8.111497
L-arginine: A promising metabolite in enhancing the protective effects of adipose-derived stem cells against ischemic pathologies
Na Liu, Xin-Xing Wan, Wei-Tao Yan, Kun Xiong
Na Liu, Wei-Tao Yan, Kun Xiong, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Xin-Xing Wan, Department of Endocrinology, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Author contributions: Liu N wrote the original draft; Wan XX and Yan WT reviewed and edited it; Xiong K was the senior author and provided supervision and validation of the writing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82303047, No. 82372507, No. 82172196, and No. 32401046; and Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, No. 2022JJ40801.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kun Xiong, PhD, Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, No. 172 Tongzipo Road, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China. xiongkun2001@163.com
Received: July 1, 2025
Revised: July 31, 2025
Accepted: August 7, 2025
Published online: August 26, 2025
Processing time: 51 Days and 12.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Ischemic pathologies impose global health challenges and economic burden due to limited therapeutic efficacy. Li et al revealed that the metabolite L-arginine, enriched in adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) obtained from elderly patients, could enhance the therapeutic efficacy of ADSCs by promoting angiogenesis and inhibiting cell apoptosis in ischemic conditions. This research underscores the significance of L-arginine for ADSCs-based therapy from a metabolic perspective, highlighting the potential of combining metabolic modulation with ADSCs therapy to improve clinical outcomes in ischemic diseases, particularly in aging populations. However, additional clinical studies are essential to validate the clinical application of these findings.