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Review
. 2017 Jul;9(7):165-179.
doi: 10.1177/1759720X17704639. Epub 2017 Apr 20.

The potential role of adult stem cells in the management of the rheumatic diseases

Tiziana Franceschetti  1 , Cosimo De Bari  1
Affiliations
Review

The potential role of adult stem cells in the management of the rheumatic diseases

Tiziana Franceschetti et al. Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis. 2017 Jul.

Abstract

Adult stem cells are considered as appealing therapeutic candidates for inflammatory and degenerative musculoskeletal diseases. A large body of preclinical research has contributed to describing their immune-modulating properties and regenerative potential. Additionally, increasing evidence suggests that stem cell differentiation and function are disrupted in the pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases. Clinical studies have been limited, for the most part, to the application of adult stem cell-based treatments on small numbers of patients or as a 'salvage' therapy in life-threatening disease cases. Nevertheless, these preliminary studies indicate that adult stem cells are promising tools for the long-term treatment of rheumatic diseases. This review highlights recent knowledge acquired in the fields of hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cell therapy for the management of systemic sclerosis (SSc), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) and the potential mechanisms mediating their function.

Keywords: arthritis; cartilage repair; cell therapy; immune modulation; regenerative medicine; rheumatic diseases; stem cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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