Inflammatory bowel disease: Therapeutic limitations and prospective of the stem cell therapy

Figure 1 The mucosal lining in a healthy intestine is maintained intact which helps limit bacterial population in gut itself.

Figure 2 The mucosal lining of the intestine is disrupted due to prolonged local inflammation and thus allowing migration of gut bacteria into intestinal tissues. Stem cells by virtue of having immune modulatory capabilities down-regulate local inflammation, and because of ability to migrate and settle in injured tissues can migrate to damaged regions of intestines, settle there and differentiate into cell types of immediate surrounding to help in mucosal healing.