Use of priming strategies to advance the clinical application of mesenchymal stromal/stem cell-based therapy

Figure 1 Schematic representation of the enhanced therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells after priming. Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells can be activated through various stimuli to increase the production of functional factors. Depending on the type of priming employed, different effects can be achieved, such as immunoinhibition, induction of angiogenesis, and cellular proliferation, which can be exploited for tissue repair/regeneration following injury. Conversely, when different effects are induced by diverse priming strategies, such as immunostimulation, inhibition of proliferation, and induction of apoptosis, these effects can be harnessed for anticancer treatment. MSC: Mesenchymal stromal/stem cell.

Figure 2 Important factors affecting the heterogeneity of mesenchymal stromal/stem cell clinical effects and potential strategies for improving mesenchymal stromal/stem cells-based therapies. A: Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) can be isolated from many tissues but have mainly been harvested from bone marrow, dental pulp, adipose and placental tissue. Different tissue sources can affect the MSC phenotype and properties[41]. There is the need to establish the best source for MSCs to obtain, without invasiveness, effective cells for therapeutic use; B: The manipulation of MSCs prior to use can influence MSC clinical potency[3] and direct their use towards specific pathological conditions; C: The above-mentioned strategies might be very useful for the optimization of MSC-based therapies for several multitarget diseases for which effective treatments are currently lacking. MSC: Mesenchymal stromal/stem cell.