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Review
. 2018 Jun 14:2018:3057624.
doi: 10.1155/2018/3057624. eCollection 2018.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Immunomodulation: Properties and Clinical Application

Mengyuan Wang  1 , Quan Yuan  1 , Liang Xie  1
Affiliations
Review

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Immunomodulation: Properties and Clinical Application

Mengyuan Wang et al. Stem Cells Int. .

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells characterized by self-renewal, production of clonal cell populations, and multilineage differentiation. They exist in nearly all tissues and play a significant role in tissue repair and regeneration. Additionally, MSCs possess wide immunoregulatory properties via interaction with immune cells in both innate and adaptive immune systems, leading to immunosuppression of various effector functions. Numerous bioactive molecules secreted by MSCs, particularly cytokines, growth factors, and chemokines, exert autocrine/paracrine effects that modulate the physiological processes of MSCs. These invaluable virtues of MSCs provide new insight into potential treatments for tissue damage and inflammation. In particular, their extensive immunosuppressive properties are being explored for promising therapeutic application in immune disorders. Recently, clinical trials for MSC-mediated therapies have rapidly developed for immune-related diseases following reports from preclinical studies declaring their therapeutic safety and efficacy. Though immunotherapy of MSCs remains controversial, these clinical trials pave the way for their widespread therapeutic application in immune-based diseases. In this review, we will summarize and update the latest research findings and clinical trials on MSC-based immunomodulation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The clinical trial distribution of MSC-based immunomodulation in the world. Up to now, most of the clinical trials using MSCs for treating inflammatory or autoimmune diseases have been conducted in the China, US, and Europe. All values have been extracted from https://clinicaltrials.gov/.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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