Patient-Speciﬁc Age: The Other Side of the Coin in Advanced Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy

Frontiers in Physiology, 2015 · DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2015.00362 · Published: December 2, 2015

Simple Explanation

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are present within the body and can differentiate into various tissue cell types. They are being explored for therapeutic applications like bone, cartilage, or heart regeneration and to counteract graft-vs-host disease. Scientific research is investigating MSC-based therapies for non-healing conditions after tendon or spinal cord injury and neuropathies, with MSC research prominently occupying the clinical stage. Aging introduces stochastic changes, raising the question of whether stem cell aging and their niche affect the success of clinical therapies.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Not specified

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
MSCs from older patients show reduced proliferative capacity, skewed differentiation potentials, telomere shortening, and DNA damage accumulation.
2
Changes in MSC morphology, proliferation capacity, senescence, and multi-lineage potential are linked to advanced age but could be also induced by several disease conditions, thus compromising their therapeutic potencies
3
Extracellular factors, such as oxygen tension or redox status, exert effects on MSC aging.

Research Summary

MSCs are considered promising for cell-based therapy due to their wide availability and resistance to malignant transformation. Despite progress, challenges remain in standardization, MSC-specific markers, and orthotopic transplantations, hindering experimental validation and understanding of their in vivo physiology. To improve MSC therapies, the FDA suggested building a database to compile data from MSCs subjected to varying conditions and derived from diverse tissues and donors.

Practical Implications

Personalized MSC Therapies

Consideration of patient-specific age and health status is crucial for successful MSC-based therapies.

Standardized MSC Characterization

Development of robust potency assays and databases for MSC characterization is needed to predict therapeutic efficacy.

Optimization of MSC Delivery

Further research is required to determine the optimal route of delivery and dosage regime for MSCs in various clinical applications.

Study Limitations

1
Difficult standardization of MSC characterization.
2
Persisting ambiguity regarding MSC-specific markers.
3
Technical challenges with orthotopic transplantations hampering experimental validations.

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