Wu MC, Meng QH. Current understanding of mesenchymal stem cells in liver diseases. World J Stem Cells 2021; 13(9): 1349-1359 [PMID: 34630867 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v13.i9.1349]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Qing-Hua Meng, MD, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Medical Oncology, You An Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 8 Youanmen Wai, Fengtai District, Beijing 100069, China. meng_qh0805@ccmu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Research & Experimental Medicine
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Stem Cells. Sep 26, 2021; 13(9): 1349-1359 Published online Sep 26, 2021. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v13.i9.1349
Current understanding of mesenchymal stem cells in liver diseases
Mu-Chen Wu, Qing-Hua Meng
Mu-Chen Wu, Qing-Hua Meng, Department of Medical Oncology,You An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Author contributions: Wu MC and Meng QH conceived and outlined the concept; Wu MC reviewed the literature and drafted the manuscript; Meng QH made critical revisions to the manuscript; all authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported bythe Municipal Natural Science Foundation of Beijing, China, No. 7192085.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Qing-Hua Meng, MD, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Medical Oncology, You An Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 8 Youanmen Wai, Fengtai District, Beijing 100069, China. meng_qh0805@ccmu.edu.cn
Received: March 20, 2021 Peer-review started: March 20, 2021 First decision: June 16, 2021 Revised: July 1, 2021 Accepted: August 25, 2021 Article in press: August 25, 2021 Published online: September 26, 2021
Abstract
Liver diseases caused by various factors have become a significant threat to public health worldwide. Liver transplantation has been considered as the only effective treatment for end-stage liver diseases; however, it is limited by the shortage of donor organs, postoperative complications, long-term immunosuppression, and high cost of treatment. Thus, it is not available for all patients. Recently, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation has been extensively explored for repairing hepatic injury in various liver diseases. MSCs are multipotent adult progenitor cells originated from the embryonic mesoderm, and can be found in mesenchymal tissues including the bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, adipose tissue, liver, lung, and others. Although the precise mechanisms of MSC transplantation remain mysterious, MSCs have been demonstrated to be able to prevent the progression of liver injury and improve liver function. MSCs can self-renew by dividing, migrating to injury sites and differentiating into multiple cell types including hepatocytes. Additionally, MSCs have immune-modulatory properties and release paracrine soluble factors. Indeed, the safety and effectiveness of MSC therapy for liver diseases have been demonstrated in animals. However, pre-clinical and clinical trials are largely required to confirm its safety and efficacy before large scale clinical application. In this review, we will explore the molecular mechanisms underlying therapeutic effects of MSCs on liver diseases. We also summarize clinical advances in MSC-based therapies.
Core Tip: Liver diseases are major threats that endanger public health globally. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation has been proposed as an attractive therapeutic option for liver diseases due to their differentiation potential, immune-modulatory properties, and paracrine release. Here, we will summarize the molecular mechanisms underlying therapeutic effects of MSCs on liver diseases and clinical trials in MSC-based therapies.
