Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in cancer therapy

Abstract

The multipotent mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), initially discovered from bone marrow in 1976, have been identified in nearly all tissues of human body now. The multipotency of MSCs allows them to give rise to osteocytes, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and other lineages. Moreover, armed with the immunomodulation capacity and tumor-homing property, MSCs are of special relevance for cell-based therapies in the treatment of cancer. However, hampered by lack of knowledge about the controversial roles that MSC plays in the crosstalk with tumors, limited progress has been made with regard to translational medicine. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the prospects of MSC-associated anticancer strategies in light of therapeutic mechanisms and signal transduction pathways. In addition, the clinical trials designed to appraise the efficacy and safety of MSC-based anticancer therapies will be assessed according to published data.

Keywords: Anticancer strategy; Immunomodulation; MSC; Signaling pathway; Therapeutic mechanism; Tumor-homing.

Fig. 1

Schematic representation of the signaling pathways involved in the crosstalk between MSC and tumor. MSC play both pro-tumor and anti-tumor roles through upregulate or downregulate the activity of cancer-related signaling

Fig. 2

Schematic illustration of the current antitumor therapies based on MSC and MSC-derived exosome

Fig. 3

Illustration of the distribution of MSCs derived from different sources in clinical trials