Potential methods for improving the efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a group of chronic recurrent gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases, including ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD) and IBD unclassified. The pathogenesis may be related to the mucosal immune dysfunction in genetically susceptible hosts affected by environmental factors. Current therapeutic agents mainly include aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs and novel biological agents. The purpose of treatment is to suppress inflammation and prevent irreversible structural damage. However, long‐term application of these drugs may lead to multiple adverse effects and is not always effective. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent progenitors with low immunogenicity, which can be obtained and expanded easily. They play an important role in regulating immune responses and repairing damaged tissues in vivo. Therefore, MSCs are considered to be a promising option for the treatment of IBD. Nonetheless, there are many factors that can reduce the efficacy of MSCs, such as gradual deterioration of functional stem cells with age, low recruitment and persistence in vivo and different routes of administration. In recent years, researchers have been able to improve the efficacy of MSCs by pretreatment, genetic modification or co‐application with other substances, as well as using different tissue‐derived cells, administration methods or doses. This article reviews these methods to provide references for more effective application of MSCs in the treatment of IBD in the future.

Therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs)-based cell therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) therapy

“…These effects, in turn, maintain the intestinal integrity and support barrier function [25]. Noteworthy, current studies have shown that using the pre-conditioned MSCs [26,27] or MSCs-derived exosome [28,29], as an innovative cell-free approach, can be more favored strategy compared to naïve MSCs cells therapy. Modified MSCs or MSCs-derived exosomes could circumvent MSCs' low migration and engraftment to colon tissue, making them a rational and effective therapeutic strategy [30].…”

Comparing adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells with prednisolone for the treatment of feline inflammatory bowel disease

“…Although the protocol for the preparation of MSCs for this study was relatively simple and appeared to be safe and effective, there are many ways that cellular therapy can be influenced prior to infusion into a patient, and a number of adjustments to MSC treatment protocols (eg, donor selection, culture medium, dose, frequency and number of infusions and route of administration) that may enhance accessibility, efficacy and duration of effect, and require further investigation. 20,21…”

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes as a Novel Strategy for the Treatment of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

“…Actually, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown safety as well as therapeutic significance in the field of regenerative medicine ( Mocchi et al, 2020 ). Currently, about 1,000 clinical trials worldwide have been reported to use MSCs to treat various diseases ( Pittenger et al, 2019 ; Kabat et al, 2020 ), including inflammatory and fibrotic diseases ( Ryu et al, 2020 ); liver disease ( Zhu et al, 2021 ), bone and joint diseases ( Li N. et al, 2020 ), inflammatory bowel diseases ( Zhang X. et al, 2020 ), diabetes ( Kuang et al, 2021 ), cardiovascular diseases ( Chen et al, 2021 ), neurodegenerative diseases ( Fayazi et al, 2021 ), spinal cord injuries ( Huang et al, 2021 ) and so on. Likewise, the emergence of cell-based therapies has also paved the way for utilizing MSCs in IVDD treatment.…”