ISSCR's Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation: Supporting development of safe and efficacious stem cell-based interventions

Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Extracellular Vesicles Are a Promising Alternative to Antibiotics for Treating Sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening disease caused by the overwhelming response to pathogen infections. Currently, treatment options for sepsis are limited to broad-spectrum antibiotics and supportive care. However, the growing resistance of pathogens to common antibiotics complicates treatment efforts. Excessive immune response (i.e., cytokine storm) can persist even after the infection is cleared. This overactive inflammatory response can severely damage multiple organ systems. Given these challenges, managing the excessive immune response is critical in controlling sepsis progression. Therefore, Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), with their immunomodulatory and antibacterial properties, have emerged as a promising option for adjunctive therapy in treating sepsis. Moreover, MSCs exhibit a favorable safety profile, as they are eventually eliminated by the host's immune system within several months post-administration, resulting in minimal side effects and have not been linked to common antibiotic therapy drawbacks (i.e., antibiotic resistance). This review explores the potential of MSCs as a personalized therapy for sepsis treatment, clarifying their mechanisms of action and providing up-to-date technological advancements to enhance their protective efficacy for patients suffering from sepsis and its consequences.

Integrating Mitochondrial Biology into Innovative Cell Therapies for Neurodegenerative Diseases

The role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases is crucial, and recent developments have highlighted its significance in cell therapy. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in various neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington's diseases. Understanding the impact of mitochondrial biology on these conditions can provide valuable insights for developing targeted cell therapies. This mini-review refocuses on mitochondria and emphasizes the potential of therapies leveraging mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, stem cell-derived secretions, and extracellular vesicles. Mesenchymal stem cell-mediated mitochondria transfer is highlighted for restoring mitochondrial health in cells with dysfunctional mitochondria. Additionally, attention is paid to gene-editing techniques such as mito-CRISPR, mitoTALENs, mito-ZNFs, and DdCBEs to ensure the safety and efficacy of stem cell treatments. Challenges and future directions are also discussed, including the possible tumorigenic effects of stem cells, off-target effects, disease targeting, immune rejection, and ethical issues.

A comprehensive review on the role of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells in the management of rheumatoid arthritis

INTRODUCTION

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease with systemic manifestations. Although the success of immune modulatory drug therapy is considerable, about 40% of patients do not respond to treatment. Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) have been demonstrated to have therapeutic potential for inflammatory diseases.

AREAS COVERED

This review provides an update on RA disease and on pre-clinical and clinical studies using MSCs from bone marrow, umbilical cord, adipose tissue, and dental pulp, to regulate the immune response. Moreover, the clinical use, safety, limitations, and future perspective of MSCs in RA are discussed. Using the PubMed database and ClincalTrials.gov, peer-reviewed full-text papers, abstracts and clinical trials were identified from 1985 through to April 2023.

EXPERT OPINION

MSCs demonstrated a satisfactory safety profile and potential for clinical efficacy. However, it is mandatory to deepen the investigations on how MSCs affect the proinflammatory deregulated RA patients' cells. MSCs are potentially good candidates for severe RA patients not responding to conventional therapies but a long-term follow-up after stem cells treatment and standardized protocols are needed. Future research should focus on well-designed multicenter randomized clinical trials with adequate sample sizes and properly selected patients satisfying RA criteria for a valid efficacy evaluation.

The impact of induced pluripotent stem cells in animal conservation

It is widely acknowledged that we are currently facing a critical tipping point with regards to global extinction, with human activities driving us perilously close to the brink of a devastating sixth mass extinction. As a promising option for safeguarding endangered species, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold great potential to aid in the preservation of threatened animal populations. For endangered species, such as the northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), supply of embryos is often limited. After the death of the last male in 2019, only two females remained in the world. IPSC technology offers novel approaches and techniques for obtaining pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) from rare and endangered animal species. Successful generation of iPSCs circumvents several bottlenecks that impede the development of PSCs, including the challenges associated with establishing embryonic stem cells, limited embryo sources and immune rejection following embryo transfer. To provide more opportunities and room for growth in our work on animal welfare, in this paper we will focus on the progress made with iPSC lines derived from endangered and extinct species, exploring their potential applications and limitations in animal welfare research.

Standardisation is the key to the sustained, rapid and healthy development of stem cell-based therapy

BACKGROUND

Stem cell-based therapy (SCT) is an important component of regenerative therapy that brings hope to many patients. After decades of development, SCT has made significant progress in the research of various diseases, and the market size has also expanded significantly. The transition of SCT from small-scale, customized experiments to routine clinical practice requires the assistance of standards. Many countries and international organizations around the world have developed corresponding SCT standards, which have effectively promoted the further development of the SCT industry.

METHODS

We conducted a comprehensive literature review to introduce the clinical application progress of SCT and focus on the development status of SCT standardization.

RESULTS

We first briefly introduced the types and characteristics of stem cells, and summarized the current clinical application and market development of SCT. Subsequently, we focused on the development status of SCT-related standards as of now from three levels: the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), important international organizations, and national organizations. Finally, we provided perspectives and conclusions on the significance and challenges of SCT standardization.

CONCLUSIONS

Standardization plays an important role in the sustained, rapid and healthy development of SCT.

Effect of miR-21 in mesenchymal stem cells-derived extracellular vesicles behavior

BACKGROUND

A challenging new branch of research related to aging-associated diseases is the identification of miRNAs capable of modulating the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) which characterizes senescent cells and contributes to driving inflammation.

METHODS

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from human umbilical cord stroma were stable modified using lentivirus transduction to inhibit miR-21-5p and shotgun proteomic analysis was performed in the MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (EV) to check the effect of miR-21 inhibition in their protein cargo. Besides, we studied the paracrine effect of those modified extracellular vesicles and also their effect on SASP.

RESULTS

Syndecan-1 (SDC1) was the most decreased protein in MSC-miR21--derived EV, and it was involved in inflammation and EV production. MSC-miR21--derived EV were found to produce a statistically significant inhibitory effect on SASP and inflammaging markers expression in receptor cells, and in the opposite way, these receptor cells increased their SASP and inflammaging expression statistically significantly when treated with MSC-miR-21+-derived EV.

CONCLUSION

This work demonstrates the importance of miR-21 in inflammaging and its role in SASP through SDC1.

Phase I clinical trial of intracerebroventricular transplantation of allogeneic neural stem cells in people with progressive multiple sclerosis

We report the analysis of 1 year of data from the first cohort of 15 patients enrolled in an open-label, first-in-human, dose-escalation phase I study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03282760, EudraCT2015-004855-37) to determine the feasibility, safety, and tolerability of the transplantation of allogeneic human neural stem/progenitor cells (hNSCs) for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Participants were treated with hNSCs delivered via intracerebroventricular injection in combination with an immunosuppressive regimen. No treatment-related deaths nor serious adverse events (AEs) were observed. All participants displayed stability of clinical and laboratory outcomes, as well as lesion load and brain activity (MRI), compared with the study entry. Longitudinal metabolomics and lipidomics of biological fluids identified time- and dose-dependent responses with increased levels of acyl-carnitines and fatty acids in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The absence of AEs and the stability of functional and structural outcomes are reassuring and represent a milestone for the safe translation of stem cells into regenerative medicines.

KAP1 phosphorylation promotes the survival of neural stem cells after ischemia/reperfusion by maintaining the stability of PCNA

Aims

To explore the function of phosphorylation of KAP1 (p-KAP1) at the serine-824 site (S824) in the proliferation and apoptosis of endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) after cerebral ischemic/reperfusion (I/R).

Methods

The apoptosis and proliferation of C17.2 cells transfected with the p-KAP1-expression plasmids and the expression of proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and p-KAP1 were detected by immunofluorescence and Western blotting after the Oxygen Glucose deprivation/reperfusion model (OGD/R). The interaction of p-KAP1 and CUL4A with PCNA was analyzed by immunoprecipitation. In the rats MCAO model, we performed the adeno-associated virus (AAV) 2/9 gene delivery of p-KAP1 mutants to verify the proliferation of endogenous NSCs and the colocalization of PCNA and CUL4A by immunofluorescence.

Results

The level of p-KAP1 was significantly down-regulated in the stroke model in vivo and in vitro. Simulated p-KAP1(S824) significantly increased the proliferation of C17.2 cells and the expression of PCNA after OGD/R. Simulated p-KAP1(S824) enhanced the binding of p-KAP1 and PCNA and decreased the interaction between PCNA and CUL4A in C17.2 cells subjected to OGD/R. The AAV2/9-mediated p-KAP1(S824) increased endogenous NSCs proliferation, PCNA expression, p-KAP1 binding to PCNA, and improved neurological function in the rat MCAO model.

Conclusions

Our findings confirmed that simulated p-KAP1(S824) improved the survival and proliferation of endogenous NSCs. The underlying mechanism is that highly expressed p-KAP1(S824) promotes binding to PCNA, and inhibits the binding of CUL4A to PCNA. This reduced CUL4A-mediated ubiquitination degradation to increase the stability of PCNA and promote the survival and proliferation of NSCs.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13287-022-02962-5.