Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Coronary Disease ; therapy ; Humans ; Stem Cell Transplantation

Spinal cord injury (SCI) has been considered an incurable condition and it often causes devastating sequelae. In terms of the pathophysiology of SCI, reducing secondary damage is the key to its treatment. Various researches and clinical trials have been performed, and some of them showed promising results; however, there is still no gold standard treatment with sufficient evidence. Two therapeutic concepts for SCI are neuroprotective and neuroregenerative strategies. The neuroprotective strategy modulates the pathomechanism of SCI. The purpose of neuroprotective treatment is to minimize secondary damage following direct injury. The aim of neuroregenerative treatment is to enhance the endogenous regeneration process and to alter the intrinsic barrier. With advancement in biotechnology, cell therapy using cell transplantation is currently under investigation. This review discusses the pathophysiology of SCI and introduces the therapeutic candidates that have been developed so far.
Biotechnology ; Cell Transplantation ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Regeneration ; Spinal Cord Injuries* ; Spinal Cord* ; Transplants

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head is caused by a multitude of etiologic factors and is associated with collapse with a risk of hip arthroplasty in younger populations. A focus on early disease management with the use of stem cells was proposed as early as 1985 by the senior author (PH). We undertook a systematic review of the medical literature to examine the progress in cell therapy during the last 30 years for the treatment of early stage osteonecrosis.
*Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Femur Head/*surgery ; Femur Head Necrosis/*surgery ; Humans ; *Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; *Tissue Engineering

The high incidence of chronic liver disease is a serious threat to public health, and the current comprehensive internal medicine treatment is ineffective. Liver transplantation is limited by the shortage of liver source and post-transplant rejection, and thus unmet the clinical needs. More importantly, cell therapy shows great promise for the treatment of chronic liver disease. Over recent years, domestic and foreign scholars have carried out a variety of cell therapy preclinical and clinical trials for critical liver disease, and achieved certain results, providing new methods for the treatment of chronic liver diseases. This review discusses the cell therapy research status and application progress, various existing problems and challenges, and key issues of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of chronic liver diseases.
Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Humans ; Liver Diseases/therapy* ; Liver Transplantation/methods* ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Tumor recurrence is one of the major life-threatening complications after liver transplantation for liver cancer. In addition to the common mechanisms underlying tumor recurrence, another unavoidable problem is that the immunosuppressive therapeutic regimen after transplantation could promote tumor recurrence and metastasis. Transplant oncology is an emerging field that addresses oncological challenges in transplantation. In this context, a comprehensive therapeutic management approach is required to balance the anti-tumor treatment and immunosuppressive status of recipients. Double-negative T cells (DNTs) are a cluster of heterogeneous cells mainly consisting of two subsets stratified by T cell receptor (TCR) type. Among them, TCRαβ⁺ DNTs are considered to induce immune suppression in immune-mediated diseases, while TCRγδ⁺ DNTs are widely recognized as tumor killers. As a composite cell therapy, healthy donor-derived DNTs can be propagated to therapeutic numbers in vitro and applied for the treatment of several malignancies without impairing normal tissues or being rejected by the host. In this work, we summarized the biological characteristics and functions of DNTs in oncology, immunology, and transplantation. Based on the multiple roles of DNTs, we propose that a new balance could be achieved in liver transplant oncology using them as an off-the-shelf adoptive cell therapy (ACT).
Humans ; T-Lymphocytes ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy

Underlying cognitive declines in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are the result of neuron and neuronal process losses due to a wide range of factors. To date, all efforts to develop therapies that target specific AD-related pathways have failed in late-stage human trials. As a result, an emerging consensus in the field is that treatment of AD patients with currently available drug candidates might come too late, likely as a result of significant neuronal loss in the brain. In this regard, cell-replacement therapies, such as human embryonic stem cell- or induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural cells, hold potential for treating AD patients. With the advent of stem cell technologies and the ability to transform these cells into different types of central nervous system neurons and glial cells, some success in stem cell therapy has been reported in animal models of AD. However, many more steps remain before stem cell therapies will be clinically feasible for AD and related disorders in humans. In this review, we will discuss current research advances in AD pathogenesis and stem cell technologies; additionally, the potential challenges and strategies for using cell-based therapies for AD and related disorders will be discussed.
Alzheimer Disease/etiology/*therapy ; Animals ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Research ; *Stem Cell Transplantation

Direct conversion by trans-differentiation is of growing interest in cell therapy for incurable diseases. The efficiency of cell reprogramming and functionality of converted cells are important considerations in cell transplantation therapy. Here, we compared two representative protocols for the generation of induced-oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (iOPCs) from mouse and rat fibroblasts. Then, we showed that induction of Nkx6.2, Olig2, and Sox10 (NOS) was more effective in mouse fibroblasts and that induction of Olig2, Sox10, and Zfp536 (OSZ) was more effective at reprogramming iOPCs from rat fibroblasts. However, OSZ-iOPCs did not show greater proliferation than NOS-induced cells. Because the efficiency of iOPCs generation appears to differ between cell species depending on transcription factors and culture conditions, it is important to select appropriate methods for efficient reprogramming.
Animals ; Cell Transplantation ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Cellular Reprogramming ; Fibroblasts ; Methods* ; Mice ; Oligodendroglia ; Rats ; Stem Cells ; Transcription Factors ; Transplants

Direct conversion by trans-differentiation is of growing interest in cell therapy for incurable diseases. The efficiency of cell reprogramming and functionality of converted cells are important considerations in cell transplantation therapy. Here, we compared two representative protocols for the generation of induced-oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (iOPCs) from mouse and rat fibroblasts. Then, we showed that induction of Nkx6.2, Olig2, and Sox10 (NOS) was more effective in mouse fibroblasts and that induction of Olig2, Sox10, and Zfp536 (OSZ) was more effective at reprogramming iOPCs from rat fibroblasts. However, OSZ-iOPCs did not show greater proliferation than NOS-induced cells. Because the efficiency of iOPCs generation appears to differ between cell species depending on transcription factors and culture conditions, it is important to select appropriate methods for efficient reprogramming.
Animals ; Cell Transplantation ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Cellular Reprogramming ; Fibroblasts ; Methods* ; Mice ; Oligodendroglia ; Rats ; Stem Cells ; Transcription Factors ; Transplants

Although cell therapy is emerged for cardiac repair, its efficacy is modest by intracoronary infusion. Therefore, we established the intramyocardial delivery technique using a left ventricular (LV) mapping system (NOGA® XP) using 18 pigs. After adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ATSCs) were delivered intramyocardially to porcine infarcted heart, LV ejection fraction (EF) was increased, and LV chamber size was decreased. We proved the therapeutic effect of intramyocardial injection of ATSC through a LV mapping system in the porcine model for the first time in Korea. The adoption of this technique may accelerate the translation into a clinical application in the near future.
Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Korea* ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Stem Cells* ; Swine

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. It is usually seen in those above 50 years old. Current medical treatments only provide symptomatic relief but cannot cure the disease. There are claims that PD can be cured by stem cell transplant. The present study is aimed to assess the clinical potency and safety of stem cell in treating PD. A total of eleven articles were included for analysis, with four randomised control trials (RCTs), five non-RCTs and 2 follow up studies. All the four non-RCTs showed improvement of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale with no adverse events. However, results from RCTs showed no significant differences in the rating score among the transplant group and the Sham surgery group. The secondary analysis of one study showed a significant improvement of the rating score in those patients aged 60 and younger. Transplant group also associated with an overall higher incidence of adverse events. In conclusion, the RCTs and non-RCTs produced opposite results. When the studies were performed as non-RCTs in small number of patients, they showed promising result in the patients. It could say that currently the use of stem cell/progenitor cells in treating PD need much research despite having the implanted stem cell to be able to survive and integrated. The survival of implanted dopamine neurons in the striatum, however, does not indicate a success in correcting PD symptoms. Further investigations will shed light on the application and mechanism of action of stem cells in treating PD.
Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Parkinson Disease* ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells*