The therapeutic potential of stem cell-derived exosomes in the ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer

Abstract

Background Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapy is a novel treatment strategy for cancer and a wide range of diseases with an excessive immune response such as ulcerative colitis (UC), due to its powerful immunomodulatory properties and its capacity for tissue regeneration and repair. One of the promising therapeutic options can focus on MSC-secreted exosomes (MSC-Exo), which have been identified as a type of paracrine interaction. In light of a wide variety of recent experimental studies, the present review aims to seek the recent research advances of therapies based on the MSC-Exo for treating UC and colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods A systematic literature search in MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar was performed from inception to December 2021 using the terms [(“colorectal cancer” OR “bowel cancer” OR “colon cancer” OR “rectal cancer”) AND (exosome) AND (stem cell) AND (“inflammatory bowel disease” OR “Crohn's disease” OR “colitis”)] in titles and abstracts. Findings Exosomes derived from various sources of MSCs, including human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs), human adipose-derived MSCs (hAD-MSCs), human bone marrow-derived MSCs (hBM-MSCs), and olfactory ecto-MSCs (OE-MSCs), have shown the protective role against UC and CRC. Exosomes from hUC-MSCs, hBM-MSCs, AD-MSCs, and OE-MSCs have been found to ameliorate the experimental UC through suppressing inflammatory cells including macrophages, Th1/Th17 cells, reducing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, as well as inducing the anti-inflammatory function of Treg and Th2 cells and enhancing the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines. In addition, hBM-MSC-Exo and hUC-MSC-Exo containing tumor-suppressive miRs (miR-3940-5p/miR-22-3p/miR‐16‐5p) have been shown to suppress proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC cells via regulation of RAP2B/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and ITGA2/ITGA6. Key messages The MSC-Exo can exert beneficial effects on UC and CRC through two different mechanisms including modulating immune responses and inducing anti-tumor responses, respectively.

Nanoscale Exosomes Derived from Gingiva Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Radiotherapy-Induced Apoptosis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

“…These cells possess notable attributes such as high self-renewal capacity, the ability to differentiate in multiple directions, and low immunogenicity. Numerous research studies have substantiated their potential to impede the proliferation of tumor cells and enhance tumor cell apoptosis. − Consequently, UC-MSCs-exo was utilized as a benchmark to assess the antitumor efficacy of GMSCs-exo. The experimental results of GMSCs-exo were found to be comparable to those of UC-MSCs-exo, indicating that GMSCs-exo possesses an antitumor effect.…”

Mesenchymal stem cell‐derived extracellular vesicles in treatment against renal fibrosis

“…MSCs, also called multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells, have shown great potential in the treatment of several diseases. [76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85] However, MSC therapy has been limited for cell transplantation due to safety issues such as immune rejection, carcinogenicity, viral contamination and so forth.…”

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes in clinical trials

“…Another challenge is the long-term preservation to extend the shelf life of MSC-Exos. Several research groups are working on lyophilizing MSC-Exos or by adding stabilizing agents such as sugars or polyethylene glycol to help to preserve exosomes for longer periods of time [99,100].…”