Mesenchymal Stem Cells and MSCs-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Infectious Diseases: From Basic Research to Clinical Practice

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are attractive in various fields of regenerative medicine due to their therapeutic potential and complex unique properties. Basic stem cell research and the global COVID-19 pandemic have given impetus to the development of cell therapy for infectious diseases. The aim of this review was to systematize scientific data on the applications of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) in the combined treatment of infectious diseases. Application of MSCs and MSC-EVs in the treatment of infectious diseases has immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects, and also promotes the restoration of the epithelium and stimulates tissue regeneration. The use of MSC-EVs is a promising cell-free treatment strategy that allows solving the problems associated with the safety of cell therapy and increasing its effectiveness. In this review, experimental data and clinical trials based on MSCs and MSC-EVs for the treatment of infectious diseases are presented. MSCs and MSC-EVs can be a promising tool for the treatment of various infectious diseases, particularly in combination with antiviral drugs. Employment of MSC-derived EVs represents a more promising strategy for cell-free treatment, demonstrating a high therapeutic potential in preclinical studies.

Immunomodulatory Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…Recent findings indicated that MSCs conduct immunomodulatory activity, associated with monocytes and regulatory T cells (Tregs) through the special cytokine-independent mechanism [58,[69][70][71]. AMSCs display more potential immunomodulatory effects than BMSCs, suggesting that AMSCs could serve as a better alternative for immunomodulatory therapy [54,69]. In comparison, HUC-MSCs have shown a minimal response to the allogeneic immune risk in vivo, regarding HUC-MSCs as a suitable therapeutic candidate [72].…”

“…It has been reported that HP-MSCs exhibit a better engraftment and expansion and capacity compared with BMSCs [52]. In recent years, MSCs from other sources, such as AMSCs, HUCB-MSCs, HUC-MSCs, and HPMSCs, have received considerable attention due to better immunomodulatory characteristics and proliferation rate as compared to BMSCs [53,54]. MSCs can be identified by distinguishing a specific panel of positive cell surface antigens ( CD29, CD73, CD90, and CD105) and negative cell surface markers (CD14, CD11b, CD19, CD34, CD45, CD79α, and HLA-DR).…”

High Targeting Specificity toward Pulmonary Inflammation Using Mesenchymal Stem Cell‐Hybrid Nanovehicle for an Efficient Inflammation Intervention

“…[33] Furthermore, the standardization of the MSC manufacturing process and the preservation of MSC viability were other problems demanding prompt solutions. [34,35] To overcome these shortages, several pioneers have tried combining the cell membrane of MSC with nanoparticles to structure a biomimetic drug vehicle for embracing the advantages of both nanoparticles and MSC. [36][37][38] For example, MSC membrane was applied to coat nanoparticles loading MSC secretions for fabricating an MSC mimic system.…”

“…[ 33 ] Furthermore, the standardization of the MSC manufacturing process and the preservation of MSC viability were other problems demanding prompt solutions. [ 34,35 ]…”

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles: From now to the future

“…MSC-derived EV (MSC-EV) has been extensively studied and has demonstrated several promising effects, as reviewed by Gowen et al [ 10 ], Tieu et al [ 11 ], Fuloria et al [ 12 ], Kou et al [ 13 ], and Yudintceva et al [ 14 ]. However, despite the high potential of MSC-EVs, several factors limit their use.…”