Stem Cell-Based Therapy in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Abstract

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive fibrosing disorder for which there is no cure and no pharmacological treatment capable of increasing in a meaningful way the survival rate. Lung transplantation remains the only possible treatment for patients with advanced disease, although the increase in 5-year survival is only 45 %. Some preclinical studies have generated promising results about the therapeutic potential of exogenous stem cells. However, two initial clinical trials involving the endobronchial or systemic delivery of autologous adipose tissue-derived or unrelated-donor, placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells have not convincingly demonstrated that these treatments are acceptably safe. The results of other ongoing clinical trials may help to identify the best source and delivery route of mesenchymal stem cells and to estimate the risk of unwanted effects related to the mesenchymal nature of the transplanted cells. Considering that most of the therapeutic potential of these cells has been ascribed to paracrine signaling, the use of mesenchymal stem cell-derived secretome as an alternative to the transplantation of single cell suspension may circumvent many regulatory and clinical problems. Technical and safety concerns still limit the possibility of clinical applications of other promising interventions that are based on the use of human amnion stem cells, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells to replace or regenerate the dysfunctional alveolar epithelium. We summarize the current status of the field and identify major challenges and opportunities for the possible future integration of stem cell-based treatments into the currently recommended clinical management strategy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Optimal Dose and Timing of Umbilical Stem Cells Treatment in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertensive Rats

“…A number of studies demonstrated the efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell administration in many lung diseases including acute lung injury,8 bronchopulmonary dysplasia,910 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,1112 fibrosing pulmonary injury,1314 pulmonary ischemia reperfusion injury,15 radiation induced lung injury,16 sepsis,17 and PAH 7918. Mesenchymal stem cells have an effect on lung inflammation and injury through paracrine interactions rather than direct interaction.…”

Biomaterials as carrier, barrier and reactor for cell-based regenerative medicine

“…Cell-based therapy has emerged as a central strategy in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Over the past few decades, various cell types, including primary cells (Kulig and Vacanti, 2004 ; Pepper et al, 2015 ), stem cells (Street et al, 2003 ; Astradsson, 2015 ; Tomatsu et al, 2015 ; Barczyk et al, 2015 ), and genetically modified cells (Kim et al, 2001 ), have been chosen as potential candidates to treat a myriad of complex diseases (e.g. diabetes (Efrat, 2008 ; Pouch, 2015 ), anemia (Orive et al, 2005 ), hemophilia (Hortelano and Chang, 2000 ) and even cancers (Cirone et al, 2002 ; Hao et al, 2005 )).…”

Adipose‐derived mesenchymal stem cells therapy for acute kidney injury induced by ischemia‐reperfusion in a rat model

“…Stem cell-based therapy, including induced pluripotent, neural, and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), is considered to be a potential treatment for various diseases, such as stroke, spinal cord injury, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, malignant glioma, diabetes, and liver disease. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] In recent years, some studies have reported the protective effects of adipose-derived MSCs (ADMSCs) in the experimental treatment of AKI. 17,18 Two types of adipose tissues (brown and white adipose) usually exist to maintain energy metabolism through the storage of lipids.…”