Novel cell-based therapies in inflammatory bowel diseases: the established concept, promising results

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic and relapsing disorders that affect the quality of life in many individuals around the world. Over the past few years, the prevalence of IBDs is substantially rising which might pose a considerable social and economic burden on health systems. Progresses in the management of chronic inflammatory diseases lead to prolonged remission phase and decreased hospitalization rate. However, during treatment, many patients become refractory to conventional therapies. Recently, advanced approaches using somatic cell therapy medicinal products (SCTMPs) including immune and stem cell-based therapies have drawn many researchers' attentions. Promising results from recent trials, alongside with the emerging market indicated that these therapeutic approaches could be an alternative and promising treatment to conventional therapies. In this review, we will discuss recent advances in cell-based therapies, which have been developed for treatment of IBDs. In addition, the global emerging market and the novel products in this field are highlighted.

Keywords: Cell therapy; Cell-based products; Immune therapy; Inflammatory bowel diseases.

Fig. 1

New therapeutic avenues in inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs). A immunosuppressive therapies, such as 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), azathioprine (AZA), and methotrexate (MTX), induce anti-inflammatory effects through suppression of T cell function and natural killer cell activity. B Monoclonal Antibody (mAb) -Based Biological Therapies against prototypical pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and receptors, such as TNF-α, IL-12-R and CD19. C Allogeneic or autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cells can migrate to damaged tissues and differentiate to epithelial or immune-modulatory cells to restore normal mucosa and tissue integrity. D specialized immune cells, such as Regulatory T cell (Treg) and Tolerogenic Dendritic cells (Tol-DCs), help to repair intestinal mucosal tissues by damping inflammation and effector T cells activity. E Mesenchyme stromal cells (MSCs) can control IBD through facilitating tissue regeneration, supporting angiogenesis and limiting inflammation

Fig. 2

Approved Mesenchyme Stromal Cells (MSCs) based products for treatment Refectory Crohn´s disease (CD)