Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Preclinical Infertility Cytotherapy: A Retrospective Review

Abstract

Infertility is a global reproductive disorder which is caused by a variety of complex diseases. Infertility affects the individual, family, and community through physical, psychological, social and economic consequences. The results from recent preclinical studies regarding stem cell-based therapies are promising. Stem cell-based therapies cast a new hope for infertility treatment as a replacement or regeneration strategy. The main features and application prospects of mesenchymal stem cells in the future of infertility should be understood by clinicians. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells with abundant source, active proliferation, and multidirectional differentiation potential. MSCs play a role through cell homing, secretion of active factors, and participation in immune regulation. Another advantage is that, compared with embryonic stem cells, there are fewer ethical factors involved in the application of MSCs. However, a number of questions remain to be answered prior to safe and effective clinical application. In this review, we summarized the recent status of MSCs in the application of the diseases related to or may cause to infertility and suggest a possible direction for future cytotherapy to infertility.

Stem cell-based therapy for human diseases

“…Recent progress has been illustrated in preclinical studies for the potential applications of stem cell-based therapy for reproductive function recovery, especially recent studies in the field of MSCs, which provide new hope for patients with infertility and reproductive disorders. 275 …”

“…Recent progress has been illustrated in preclinical studies for the potential applications of stem cell-based therapy for reproductive function recovery, especially recent studies in the field of MSCs, which provide new hope for patients with infertility and reproductive disorders. 275 POF is characterized by a loss of ovarian activity during middle age (before 40 years old) and affects 1-2% of women of reproductive age. 276 Patients diagnosed with POF exhibit oligo-/ amenorrhea for at least 4 months, with increased levels of folliclestimulating hormone (FSH) (>25 IU/L) on two occasions more than 1 month apart.…”

Human Umbilical Cord-Based Therapeutics: Stem Cells and Blood Derivatives for Female Reproductive Medicine

“…They can divide into identical SCs (via symmetrical division), or, under certain physiologic or experimental stimulus, give rise to differentiated (mature) cells with particular functions (via asymmetric 2 of 30 division or tissue-specific differentiation processes) [5]. Several studies have focused on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for experimental approaches to treat infertility [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. In this context, there are various sources of human MSCs used in therapeutic approaches for regenerative medicine, such as the bone marrow, adipose tissue, menstrual blood, salivary glands, dental pulp, amniotic fluid, placental tissue, and umbilical cord (UC), the latter being the focus of this review [17,18].…”

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“…Mesenchymal stem cells are spindle-shaped cells, first derived in the bone marrow of the mid-1970s 1 . These cells are found in various adult tissues and secretions, including adipose tissues, amniotic fluid, dental pulp, menstrual blood, placenta, endometrium, umbilical cord, and foetal tissues like liver and bone marrow, blood 2 . MSCs are also known for their multiple effective properties like selfregeneration, self-replication, and self-repairment 2,3 .…”

“…These cells are found in various adult tissues and secretions, including adipose tissues, amniotic fluid, dental pulp, menstrual blood, placenta, endometrium, umbilical cord, and foetal tissues like liver and bone marrow, blood 2 . MSCs are also known for their multiple effective properties like selfregeneration, self-replication, and self-repairment 2,3 . These cells help in the regulation of cells and a standard cell source of tissue renewal 1,4 .…”