Therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells for scleroderma induced in mouse model

Cellular-Based Therapies in Systemic Sclerosis: From Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant to Innovative Approaches

“…Subsequently, Yang et al documented improvements in cutaneous fibrosis after the infusion of umbilical cord-derived MSCs in the a bleomycin-induced SSc model, with decreased collagen synthesis and inhibition of Th-17 cell function [ 81 ]. Analogous results have been obtained in the HOCI-induced model, in which the elevated levels of plasmatic nitric oxide and of cutaneous/lung tissue α-SMA and TGF-β1 normalized after umbilical cord- or bone marrow-derived MSC infusions, reaching nearly a normal histopathology of lung and skin [ 82 , 83 , 84 ] Interestingly, also the administration of extracellular vesicles derived from MSCs primed with IFN-gamma has been demonstrated to improve lung-fibrosis in preclinical studies [ 85 , 86 ].…”

“…A promising MSCs source for local treatments appears to be the adipose tissue (AT), a tissue enriched in MSCs 500-fold greater than BM, AT-MSCs that are more easily available with painfulness collection procedures and minimal ethical considerations. AT-MSCs can be collected through liposuction from subcutaneous AT of abdominal wall or AT biopsy and expanded in vitro [ 83 ]. The harvested AT is composed of mature adipocytes (90%), extracellular matrix, and a stromal vascular fraction (SVF) which consists of AT-MSCs, along with endothelial progenitor cells, immune cells, fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, mature endothelial cells, pericytes and cells not characterized yet [ 94 ].…”