Since their discovery in 1960, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively studied for their potential to treat a wide range of diseases, including autoimmune diseases, bone/cartilage repairs, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological and immune-related disorders.
MSCs have demonstrated the ability to improve these conditions through their ability to repair injured or affected tissue by migrating to the injured site, engrafting, and differentiating to end-stage functional cells. Additionally, MSCs have shown the ability to modulate immune cell types, promote neovascularization, increase angiogenesis, enhance cell viability, and inhibit cell death.
While the results of several animal studies exploring the therapeutic benefits of MSCs have been promising, the lack of therapeutic results demonstrated from some clinical trials has created the need to further explore and understand the specific role of MSCs as a viable treatment option.
In this review, Fan et al. summarize the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of MSCs and provide an overview of recent developments in MSC-based therapy.
The authors attribute the therapeutic potential of MSCs to two primary aspects, replacement of the damaged tissue through differentiation and regulation of immune responses by immunomodulatory function. These aspects are specifically attributed to the paracrine function, which secretes a variety of factors to exert immunomodulatory, angiogenic, antiapoptotic, and antioxidative effects.
Fan et al. point out that although MS-based therapies have made significant progress, clinical trials and publications demonstrating mixed and contradictory results have prevented the advancement of MSCs into daily clinical application. The authors conclude that these disparities are most likely due to the large variability in key factors such as cell source, dosage, administration route, and administration timing.
Considering these disparities, Fan et al. call for the standardization of procedures of MSC isolation and expansion as crucial to improving the safety, efficacy, and outcomes of future clinical investigations of MSC-based therapies.
Source: Fan XL, Zhang Y, Li X, Fu QL. Mechanisms underlying the protective effects of mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2020;77(14):2771-2794. doi:10.1007/s00018-020-03454-6
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