Clinical applications of mesenchymal stem cells in chronic lung diseases (Review)

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem (stromal) cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells that have the ability to modulate immune response to tissue injury and promote repair in vivo. The therapeutic potential of ex vivo expanded MSCs are currently under investigation for a variety of chronic and acute lung diseases. This review summarizes the encouraging results regarding the safety of MSCs administration from recent and current clinical trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It also reviews the early preliminary data extracted by the same trials regarding the efficacy of MSCs in the aforementioned lung diseases.

Macrophage Immunomodulation: The Gatekeeper for Mesenchymal Stem Cell Derived-Exosomes in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension?

“…MSCs are attractive candidates for allogenic therapies. They boast an established/growing safety profile, and the immunomodulatory potential has been previously demonstrated in approved clinical protocols where allogenic MSC therapy is used for the clinical management of steroid refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) [ 75 ] and is in clinical development for numerous cardio-respiratory disorders [ 70 , 76 , 77 , 78 ].…”

Dodging COVID-19 infection: Low expression and localization of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) and Transmembrane Serine Protease 2 (TMPRSS2) in Mesenchymal Stem Cells derived from human umbilical cord (hUC-MSCs). 

“…After being administered to a COVID-19 patient, a large majority of hUC-MSCs should be able to exert their therapeutic action via the secretion of anti-in ammatory molecules while "dodging" the virus ( Figure 5). To date, MSCs have been used to treat pulmonary conditions such as idiopathic pulmonary brosis, acute respiratory distress syndrome and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 14 .…”

“…Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) 12,13 exert anti-in ammatory [14][15][16] , anti-bacterial, anti-protozoan and antiviral [17][18][19][20] effects making them a possible treatment for COVID-19-related complications [21][22][23][24] . MSCs produce several types of cytokines via paracrine secretion or have direct interactions with immune cells, resulting in immunomodulation 25 .…”

Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived miRNA-130b Enhances Epithelial Sodium Channel by Targeting PTEN

“…Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are pluripotent stem cells, which are characterized by their ability to differentiate into multiple cell lines and exert antiproliferative, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects [13]. MSCs have the ability to regulate the immune response to tissue damage and promote repair in vivo, and have been suggested to act on a variety of lung diseases (including ALI) [14].…”