Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Aug 11:2020:8837654.
doi: 10.1155/2020/8837654. eCollection 2020.

Mesenchymal Stem/Progenitor Cells: The Prospect of Human Clinical Translation

Dina Rady  1   2 , Marwa M S Abbass  1   2 , Aiah A El-Rashidy  2   3 , Sara El Moshy  1   2 , Israa Ahmed Radwan  1   2 , Christof E Dörfer  4 , Karim M Fawzy El-Sayed  2   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Mesenchymal Stem/Progenitor Cells: The Prospect of Human Clinical Translation

Dina Rady et al. Stem Cells Int. .

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSCs) are key players in regenerative medicine, relying principally on their differentiation/regeneration potential, immunomodulatory properties, paracrine effects, and potent homing ability with minimal if any ethical concerns. Even though multiple preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated remarkable properties for MSCs, the clinical applicability of MSC-based therapies is still questionable. Several challenges exist that critically hinder a successful clinical translation of MSC-based therapies, including but not limited to heterogeneity of their populations, variability in their quality and quantity, donor-related factors, discrepancies in protocols for isolation, in vitro expansion and premodification, and variability in methods of cell delivery, dosing, and cell homing. Alterations of MSC viability, proliferation, properties, and/or function are also affected by various drugs and chemicals. Moreover, significant safety concerns exist due to possible teratogenic/neoplastic potential and transmission of infectious diseases. Through the current review, we aim to highlight the major challenges facing MSCs' human clinical translation and shed light on the undergoing strategies to overcome them.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest related to this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Two-dimensional and three-dimensional culturing plates and bioreactors.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Direct involvement of mesenchymal stem cells in cancer through malignant transformation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Challenges facing human clinical translation of MSC application and suggested strategies to overcome them.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Guan X., Avci-Adali M., Alarçin E., et al. Development of hydrogels for regenerative engineering. Biotechnology Journal. 2017;12(5) doi: 10.1002/biot.201600394. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gao G., Cui X. Three-dimensional bioprinting in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Biotechnology Letters. 2016;38(2):203–211. doi: 10.1007/s10529-015-1975-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Berthiaume F., Maguire T. J., Yarmush M. L. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: history, progress, and challenges. Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. 2011;2(1):403–430. doi: 10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-061010-114257. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kim N., Cho S.-G. Clinical applications of mesenchymal stem cells. The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine. 2013;28(4):387–402. doi: 10.3904/kjim.2013.28.4.387. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gao F., Chiu S. M., Motan D. A. L., et al. Mesenchymal stem cells and immunomodulation: current status and future prospects. Cell Death & Disease. 2016;7(1, article e2062) doi: 10.1038/cddis.2015.327. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources