The homing effect refers to the physiological phenomenon in which, after stem cells are administered into the body, they spontaneously find damaged or inflamed tissues, accumulate there, and promote repair and regeneration.
Stem cells administered intravenously travel throughout the body via peripheral blood circulation and reach the damaged area via the lymphatic system and blood vessels. There, they adhere to the vascular endothelium, infiltrate the surrounding tissues, and then undergo proliferation and differentiation to transform into the target cells.