Stem Cell Based Therapies for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Stem Cell Based Therapies for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Currently, it’s estimated that over 1.3 million people in the U.S., and 10 million people around the world, are living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is a chronic and recurrent disease characterized by inflammation of the tissues of the digestive tract[1]. Two specific diseases included under the term IBD include Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). 

While the exact cause of IBD has yet to be determined, research seems to suggest abnormal activation of the immune system, genetic susceptibility, and altered intestinal flora resulting from mucus barrier defects play some type of role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Currently, a complete IBD treatment or cure exists. Recent research has also demonstrated that adults with IBD are more likely to suffer from other chronic conditions, including diabetes, arthritis, lung cancer, and heart disease[2].

Clinical trials using stem cell therapy have demonstrated promising results for the potential treatment of IBD, including long-term remission in some patients.

In this review, Zhang et al. review the upcoming stem cell transplantation methods for clinical application and the results of ongoing clinical trials exploring the use of stem cell transplantation as a potential treatment for IBD.

Specific stem cells, known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), have been shown to be particularly effective when used as a therapeutic treatment. HSCs are isolated from blood, bone marrow, and cord blood that migrate directly to damaged mucosal tissues. Initially used in patients with IBD because of other hematologic indications, including leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the use of HSC therapy (HSCT) demonstrated improvement in intestinal lesions. Further study using HSCT showed that some patients with UC and CD demonstrated sustained clinical and endoscopic improvement.  The authors point out that while these limited clinical trials have demonstrated promising results, the observed risk of relapse currently prevents HSCT from being classified as an effective treatment and calls for larger samples and longer-term efficacy observations.

Another stem cell treatment currently being evaluated for the treatment of IBD is the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). When injected intravenously, MSCs demonstrate the ability to reach the injured area of the intestine, colonize mucosa to control inflammation, improve microcirculation, and repair damaged tissues. A systematic review conducted by Lalu et al. found that the use of MSCs did not show significant side effects and was a relatively safe therapeutic treatment option.

Zhang et al. conclude that the significant advance in stem cell research made over the past twenty years has made them a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of IBD. Although a limited number of clinical trials have confirmed the efficacy of specific stem cells, specifically HSC and MSCs in IBD, the authors point out that the current treatments need to be improved and further research must be conducted in order to fully understand the complexity associated with the condition. 

While this review focuses primarily on the use of HSC and MSC, Zhang et al. call for continued preclinical exploration of other cell therapy methods with the goal of improving the quality of life of IBD patients.

Source: “Stem Cell-Based Therapies for Inflammatory Bowel Disease – PMC.” 31 Jul. 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9368934/.


[1] “Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – Symptoms and causes.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/inflammatory-bowel-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20353315.

[2] “People with IBD Have More Chronic Diseases – CDC.” https://www.cdc.gov/ibd/features/IBD-more-chronic-diseases.html.

Researchers Effectively Treat Experimental Colitis with Fat-Derived Stem Cells

Researchers Effectively Treat Experimental Colitis with Fat-Derived Stem Cells

Crohn’s disease is a chronic illness that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract but mostly affects the small and large intestines. People with Crohn’s disease often have inflammation of the large bowel (Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease or IBD). This colitis causes abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, along with bleeding and infections in the gastrointestinal tract. Crohn’s disease can interfere with a person’s ability to absorb nutrients, leading to malnutrition and weight loss. The medical community is debating whether it is possible to treat experimental colitis with fat-derived stem cells.

The standard medical treatment for Crohn’s disease involves one or more powerful drugs. When the disease flares up, patients usually must take steroids either orally or intravenously. They may also receive disease-modifying therapy such as immunomodulators and biologic medications. Many patients do enjoy remission once they receive these powerful drugs; however, side effects can be difficult to tolerate. Patients who cannot tolerate these powerful drugs or do not achieve disease remission may have to take steroids every day. Chronic steroid use has many severe and sometimes permanent side effects. If these treatments fail, patients may need to have surgery to remove a portion of their intestines that have been damaged by Crohn’s disease.

In an effort to find safe and effective treatments for Crohn’s disease, researchers have been testing stem cells in laboratory animals. In one study, scientists used a chemical to cause colon inflammation (colitis) in mice. This chemical causes many of the symptoms of humans with Crohn’s disease experience such as diarrhea, tissue damage, and weight loss. The researchers then treated some of the mice with mesenchymal stem cells gathered from human fat tissue (adipose) to see if stem cells could improve the symptoms.

Remarkably, human stem cell treatment reduced diarrhea, inflammation, and disease severity in mice with colitis. The chemical colitis caused mice to lose approximately 15 to 20% of their body weight. Mice that received stem cell treatment regained most of the weight they had lost. Researchers also noted that mice treated with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells lived significantly longer than those that did not receive stem cell treatment.

Of course, this research was performed in laboratory animals, but it lays important groundwork for testing in humans. Indeed, since the publication of this report, researchers have been able to show that adipose-derived stem cells helped patients with Crohn’s disease. This exciting work will no doubt lead to future studies that may help pave the way to wider use of stem cells in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease.

Reference: Gonzalez, M. (2009). Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Alleviate Experimental Colitis by Inhibiting Inflammatory and Autoimmune Responses. Gastroenterology. Volume 136, Issue 3, March 2009, Pages 978-989

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