Mesenchymal Stem Cell Trials for Pulmonary Diseases

Abstract

All adult tissues, including the lung, have some capacity to self-repair or regenerate through the replication and differentiation of stem cells resident within these organs. While lung resident stem cells are an obvious candidate cell therapy for lung diseases, limitations exist regarding our knowledge of the biology of these cells. In contrast, there is considerable interest in the therapeutic potential of exogenous cells, particularly mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), for lung diseases. Bone marrow derived-MSCs are the most studied cell therapy for these diseases. Preclinical studies demonstrate promising results using MSCs for diverse lung disorders, including emphysema, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, fibrosis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. This mini-review will summarize ongoing clinical trials using MSCs in lung diseases, critically examine the data supporting their use for this purpose, and discuss the next steps in the translational pathway for MSC therapy of lung diseases.

Mustard vesicant-induced lung injury: Advances in therapy

“…Similarly, intravenous injection of MSC-derived exosomes prevents hypoxia-induced inflammatory alveolar infiltrates and pulmonary hypertension in mice (Akyurekli et al, 2015). There is also some evidence in humans that MSCs may be therapeutic in chronic lung diseases (Antunes et al, 2014). Our emerging understanding of the central role of MSCs in tissue regeneration and repair raises the possibility that they may be useful in the early stages of mustard toxicity in the lung, however, this has not yet been systematically investigated.…”

Stem Cells and Lung Injury

“…The in vivo experiment on mouse model showed that the administration of human umbilical cordmesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) results in the modulation of inflammatory markers for the survival of the epithelail cell [5]. The mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) demonstrated the potential therapy in lung diseases [5,6]. These MSCs may collect from the umbilical cord (UC), adipose tissue, bone marrow, skeletal muscle and other tissues.…”

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

“…Compared to MSC, the potential advantages of BMDMCs include autologous harvest on the day of administration, avoiding the need for an allogeneic source and lowering the cost in acute diseases such as ARDS; expression of genes involved in inflammatory response and chemotaxis by BMDMCs; and potential for crosstalk among multiple cell types in these preparations. 15,16 In preclinical studies, BMDMCs from experimental donors with pulmonary and extrapulmonary ALI, although different in characteristics, were as effective as cells obtained from healthy donors in reducing inflammation and remodeling, suggesting a role for autologous BMDMC transplantation in clinical settings. BMDMC administration were also found to reduce lung inflammation and fibrosis regardless of the timing of injection after endotoxin-induced ALI.…”