Mesenchymal Stem Cells Modulate Lung Injury

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been shown to differentiate into a variety of mesenchymal cell types, including fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, osteoblasts, chondroblasts, adipocytes, and myoblasts, as well as epithelial cells. It has been shown that these cells can be recovered from bone marrow as well as umbilical cord blood, and they can be propagated, stored, and administered to animals and patients in clinical trials. It is clear that the cells engraft in the lung, and several laboratories have demonstrated an ameliorating effect in models of acute injury caused by LPS and in chronic lung injury induced by bleomycin and asbestos. However, it is not at all clear under what conditions these cells must be applied to provide an advantage and when using these cells might cause exacerbation of the lung injury. This brief review focuses on the biology of MSCs in vitro, how the cells have been used in some animal models, and the potential for their use in therapeutic strategies for diseases as diverse as lung cancer and interstitial fibrosis.

Therapeutic Potential of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Inhibiting Myofibroblastic Differentiation of Irradiated Human Lung Fibroblasts

“…In one animal model of RILI, the beneficial effects of transplanted MSCs involved the regulation of inflammatory cytokines, inhibition of fibrosis, reduced epithelial cell apoptosis, and enhanced differentiation of alveolar epithelium (Xue et al 2013;Wang et al 2013). Various in vitro and in vivo studies have reported that MSCs secrete soluble factors that protect host cells against a variety of injuries (Rodman 2008;Brody et al 2010). This implicates paracrine signaling as an important component of the beneficial effects of MSCs.…”

Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Ameliorates Seawater-Exposure-Induced Acute Lung Injury by Inhibiting Autophagy in Lung Tissue

“…BMSCs are being studied with increasing intensity because of their potential use as a therapeutic tool [5]. Several studies have demonstrated that the BMSC transplantation might attenuate ALI/ARDS in lung tissue by decreasing mortality rate and maintaining the normal pulmonary endothelial and epithelial function as well as participating in modulating the inflammatory responses that are involved in ALI [6–9].…”

Epithelial Interactions and Local Engraftment of Lung-Resident Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…In bone marrow, MSCs play a critical role in supporting the functions of the hematopoietic stem cell niche (3). Potent immunosuppressive and antiinflammatory properties of MSCs have also garnered significant interest in their application as vectors for tissue repair and cell therapy (4,5). Exogenously administered MSCs have been found to ameliorate injury in various experimental animal models, an effect that has been demonstrated to be mediated predominantly by the secretory function of MSCs rather than their local engraftment potential (6)(7)(8)(9).…”