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Stem cell transplantation to repair lung fibrosis

Stem cell transplantation to repair lung fibrosis. The lungs are closely related to human breathing. Once the lungs have severe disease, it will greatly affect the quality of life.

Stem cells are a kind of primitive cell population with self-renewal ability and the ability of tissue repair and differentiation and regeneration. They are considered as the core of contemporary regenerative medicine. Stem cells are expected to repair trauma and pathological tissues, solve various intractable diseases, and bring disruptive changes to the medical community.

Because stem cells can be induced to differentiate into lung cells under certain conditions, they can “homing”, differentiate, and secrete a variety of biologically active substances to participate in the regulation of immune response. They are the most valuable mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis by replacing cells. It provides a new option for the repair of pulmonary fibrosis.

Traditional methods are not effective in repairing pulmonary fibrosis

In some countries, the incidence and mortality of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are increasing year by year. The average survival time after diagnosis is only 2.8 years, and the mortality rate is higher than that of most tumors. It is called a “tumor-like disease”. Traditional methods are not effective in intervention of end-stage pulmonary fibrosis.

1. Drug therapy:

There is only one drug approved by the State Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in some countries, namely, Asriel (chemical name: pirfenidone). At present, the knowledge of pirfenidone is still limited, and the price of this medicine is high whether it is used in Europe or Asia. At present, the drug has been used clinically, but there is no report showing that it can significantly improve the symptoms or quality of life of patients.

2. Non-drug treatment:

• ① oxygen therapy;
• ② mechanical ventilation;
• ③ pulmonary rehabilitation;
• ④ lung transplantation.

Stem cell transplantation provides a new concept for the repair of lung fibrosis

In recent years, intervention of end-stage pulmonary fibrosis based on stem cell transplantation technology has become a new research hotspot. Scholars at home and abroad have carried out a series of basic and clinical research on this, and have achieved good results.

Since stem cells are a type of cells with high differentiation potential and strong self-renewal ability, stem cell transplantation is one of the current research hotspots in the fields of life sciences and cell biology, which brings hope to patients with pulmonary fibrosis and breaks pulmonary fibrosis. The traditional concept of non-renewable lung cells provides a new way to repair lung fibrosis.

Stem cell transplantation can be a “scavenger” for the lungs and improve lung function and pulmonary fibrosis

In 2016, domestic experts published the results of clinical research on the treatment of liver fibrosis with mesenchymal hepatocytes. They randomly divided 60 patients with liver fibrosis caused by hepatic fibrosis into penicillamine group and mesenchymal stem cells + penicillamine Group, 30 cases in each group, record and compare the therapeutic effects on liver fibrosis, liver function and serological indexes before and after treatment.

The results showed that the serum levels of the two groups decreased after treatment, and the cytokine level of the mesenchymal stem cells + penicillamine group was significantly lower than that of the penicillamine group. It shows that the combined treatment of mesenchymal stem cells and penicillamine has a significant positive effect on liver fibrosis caused by hepatolenticular degeneration [2].

In 2017, the well-known journal “Chest” published an online phase I clinical trial on the safety of allogeneic human mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Nine patients with mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis were divided into three groups and received intravenous infusion of mesenchymal stem cells of different concentrations. The evaluation results after 60 weeks showed that no serious adverse events occurred, which proved the safety of mesenchymal stem cell infusion in the treatment of mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis [3].

In 2019, the Journal of Stem Cell Translational Medicine reported the results of a clinical study on the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with rapid decline in lung function with high-dose stem cells in the human body [4]. Twenty subjects were randomly divided into two groups, namely the mesenchymal stem cell treatment group and the placebo group. The analysis of pulmonary function indicators showed that mesenchymal stem cells have a certain therapeutic effect and curbed the rapid development of pulmonary fibrosis. The safety assessment did not find significant adverse events related to treatment, which proved the effectiveness and safety of stem cell therapy.

Principles of stem cell therapy for pulmonary fibrosis

Antioxidant mechanism: Mesenchymal stem cells have certain antioxidant and scavenging effects of oxygen free radicals, which help reduce pulmonary fibrosis.

Cell fusion, cell-cell interaction, differentiation, and promotion of angiogenesis: These mechanisms, either alone or interacting, will all exert anti-fibrosis effects.

Anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory mechanisms: Mesenchymal stem cells exert anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects by secreting anti-inflammatory factors and antibacterial peptides, or inhibiting pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, up-regulating inflammatory signaling pathways and bacterial phagocytosis, and reducing pulmonary fibrosis.

Paracrine mechanism: mesenchymal stem cells secrete many factors, including hepatocyte growth factor, angiopoietin-1, vascular endothelial growth factor, certain chemokines, inflammatory factors and regulatory peptides, etc., which directly or indirectly reduce inflammation in the lungs Reaction and pulmonary fibrosis.

Future outlook

The lungs are closely related to human breathing. Once the lungs develop severe disease, it will greatly affect the quality of life. Stem cells, especially mesenchymal stem cells, can generate a large number of biologically active factors, such as anti-inflammatory factors, immunosuppressive factors, angiogenic factors, etc., and have shown great potential in the treatment of lung diseases, helping to relieve lung Inflammation and repair and reconstruction of damaged lung tissue.

The results of existing clinical trials demonstrate the safety and preliminary effectiveness of stem cells in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. With the output of more clinical trial results, stem cells will make greater contributions to the treatment and protection of human pulmonary fibrosis.

(source:chinanet, reference only)

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