Mesenchymal Stem Cells- Potential Therapeutic Applications of MSCs
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent adult stem cells. Being mutipotent, MSCs can differentiate into more than one specialized cell of the body. Generally, MSCs make the different cells in skeletal tissues e.g., chondrocytes, osteoblast, adipocyte etc. In case of MSCs giving rise to other specialized cells like neurons, reprogramming of the cells with gene therapy or bioactive compounds are desired.
Mesenchymal stem cells are found in several body regions like adipose tissue, umbilical cord, and bone marrow. In the bone marrow, another type of stem cells also exist, called the hematopoietic (blood) stem cells (HSCs). The MSCs and HSCs majorly constitute the stem cell population in the bone marrow. While extracting stem cells from the bone marrow, it is common to obtain a mix of stem cells and it is crucial to isolate the MSC population for efficient research results if they are being used for clinical experiments or therapeutic studies. Although FDA approval for MSC have not yet come up in therapeutics, emergency treatments and pilot studies are ongoing to establish them as a potential therapeutic candidate.
Potential Therapeutic Applications of MSCs
Musculoskeletal Disorders: MSCs have a primary ability to differentiate into bone cells and osteoblasts and this has led to their application in several clinical trials for repairing bone defects. The therapeutic studies are mostly site-directed. Literature reference: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/sci/2018/5373294/. Other researchers have also reported the role of MSCs in cartilage repair. Cartilage covers bone ends in joints and they can wear off in cases of sports injury or osteoarthritis. Although doctors do suggest knee surgeries in musculoskeletal defects, surgeries are complicated and risky. In early intervention, MSCs have been shown to limit inflammation in the damaged areas and promote repair. Mostly autologous therapy is pursued using MSCs as it does not provoke any risk concerning graft vs host diseases. MSCs are also used in research for bioengineering purposes to make 3D scaffold models for tissue repair and bone repair. Literature reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6895744/.
Heart and Blood vessel Repair
MSCs can also promote new blood vessel formation called neovascularization but do not form blood vessels themselves. MSCs can release endothelial growth factors that stimulate endothelial precursors (cells that can develop inner blood vessel layer). MSCs can also guide new blood vessel assembly from pre-existing endothelial cell lining. These studies on animal models report potential of MSCs to treat diseases like limb ischemia. Literature reference: https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/mmr.2017.8059.
Mesenchymal stem cells have been widely used in stem cell research and many clinical researchers are taking up the role of MSCs for treating serious disorders of neurodegenerative, musculoskeletal, aging-related disorders. Recently, MSCs have also been reported to be beneficial in COVID-19 and post COVID-19 treatments (Literature reference: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30198-X/fulltext). More and more therapeutic studies are taking the help of MSCs currently and researchers are trying to increase cohort size of these studies to establish MSCs as a therapeutic candidate universally. KOSHEEKA helps researchers in this progress with the opportunity to procure best quality human Mesenchymal Stem Cells without any hassle. Contact us at info@kosheeka.com
