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Review
. 2020 May 28;9(6):1343.
doi: 10.3390/cells9061343.

Umbilical Cord MSCs and Their Secretome in the Therapy of Arthritic Diseases: A Research and Industrial Perspective

Chiara Arrigoni  1 , Daniele D'Arrigo  1 , Valeria Rossella  2 , Christian Candrian  3   4 , Veronica Albertini  2 , Matteo Moretti  1   5
Affiliations
Review

Umbilical Cord MSCs and Their Secretome in the Therapy of Arthritic Diseases: A Research and Industrial Perspective

Chiara Arrigoni et al. Cells. .

Abstract

The prevalence of arthritic diseases is increasing in developed countries, but effective treatments are currently lacking. The injection of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represents a promising approach to counteract the degenerative and inflammatory environment characterizing those pathologies, such as osteoarthritis (OA). However, the majority of clinical approaches based on MSCs are used within an autologous paradigm, with important limitations. For this reason, allogeneic MSCs isolated from cord blood (cbMSCs) and Wharton's jelly (wjMSCs) gained increasing interest, demonstrating promising results in this field. Moreover, recent evidences shows that MSCs beneficial effects can be related to their secretome rather than to the presence of cells themselves. Among the trophic factors secreted by MSCs, extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as a promising candidate for the treatment of arthritic joints. In the present review, the application of umbilical cord MSCs and their secretome as innovative therapeutic approaches in the treatment of arthritic joints will be examined. With the prospective of routine clinical applications, umbilical cord MSCs and EVs will be discussed also within an industrial and regulatory perspective.

Keywords: cell therapies; extracellular vesicles; osteoarthritis; secretome; umbilical cord MSC.

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Conflict of interest statement

Veronica Albertini is a board member of SSCB Swiss Stem Cells Biotech SA. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (ucMSCs) on osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes evidenced by in vitro studies. GAG: glycosaminoglycans.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Manufacturing process for umbilical cord-derived MSCs and their EVs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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