Current Advanced Therapies Based on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Skin Diseases

Abstract

Skin disease may be related with immunological disorders, external aggressions, or genetic conditions. Injuries or cutaneous diseases such as wounds, burns, psoriasis, and scleroderma among others are common pathologies in dermatology, and in some cases, conventional treatments are ineffective. In recent years, advanced therapies using human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) from different sources has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of many pathologies. Due to their properties; regenerative, immunomodulatory and differentiation capacities, they could be applied for the treatment of cutaneous diseases. In this review, a total of thirteen types of hMSCs used as advanced therapy have been analyzed, considering the last 5 years (2015–2020). The most investigated types were those isolated from umbilical cord blood (hUCB-MSCs), adipose tissue (hAT-MSCs) and bone marrow (hBM-MSCs). The most studied diseases were wounds and ulcers, burns and psoriasis. At preclinical level, in vivo studies with mice and rats were the main animal models used, and a wide range of types of hMSCs were used. Clinical studies analyzed revealed that cell therapy by intravenous administration was the advanced therapy preferred except in the case of wounds and burns where tissue engineering was also reported. Although in most of the clinical trials reviewed results have not been posted yet, safety was high and only local slight adverse events (mild nausea or abdominal pain) were reported. In terms of effectiveness, it was difficult to compare the results due to the different doses administered and variables measured, but in general, percentage of wound’s size reduction was higher than 80% in wounds, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and Severity Scoring for Atopic Dermatitis were significantly reduced, for scleroderma, parameters such as Modified Rodnan skin score (MRSC) or European Scleroderma Study Group activity index reported an improvement of the disease and for hypertrophic scars, Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) score was decreased after applying these therapies. On balance, hMSCs used for the treatment of cutaneous diseases is a promising strategy, however, the different experimental designs and endpoints stablished in each study, makes necessary more research to find the best way to treat each patient and disease.

The versatility of mesenchymal stem cells: From regenerative medicine to COVID, what is next?

“…The combination of stem cells with biomaterials is a promising strategy for tissue regeneration as evidenced by several studies (Sierra-Sánchez et al, 2021). Thus, our group has also contributed with the literature, evaluating the association among different scaffolds and MSCs.…”

Cellular human tissue-engineered skin substitutes investigated for deep and difficult to heal injuries

“…When these critical cells are lacking due to deep and difficult to heal wounds, human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) can also contribute to re-epithelization 21 by stimulating collagen production and reducing fibrosis and scar formation by releasing many growth factors such as EGF or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) 12 .…”

“…In most TESSs, the cellular component is composed of human adult keratinocytes and fibroblasts as part of epidermal and dermal layers, respectively 20 . However, due to the many advantageous properties 8 , 27 of human stem cells (hSCs) and the specific role of hSSCs and hMSCs in restoring homeostatic conditions 12 , 15 , new approaches in the field of skin engineering are focusing on the incorporation of these cell types to TESSs 21 (Table 1 ).…”

“…Human stem cells such as hSSCs, induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and hMSCs have been investigated for therapeutic use to enhance wound healing 21 , 27 , 123 . This has led to the fabrication of more complex models of TESSs (Fig.…”

Alloreactive Immune Response Associated to Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Treatment: A Systematic Review

“…Regarding clinical translation of MSCs, MSCs therapies are effective in many diseases such as GVHD [30,31], ischemic stroke [32], tuberculosis [33], osteoarthritis [34], kidney disease [35], hyperglycemia [36] and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection [37]. There are currently more than 1200 clinical trials investigating the role of MSCs in musculoskeletal, neurological, traumatic, dermatological and autoimmune diseases [38,39]. Recently, the role of MSCs therapy in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to severe cases of COVID-19 infection has been studied.…”