Stem Cell-Based Therapy in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive fibrosing disorder for which there is no cure and no pharmacological treatment capable of increasing in a meaningful way the survival rate. Lung transplantation remains the only possible treatment for patients with advanced disease, although the increase in 5-year survival is only 45 %. Some preclinical studies have generated promising results about the therapeutic potential of exogenous stem cells. However, two initial clinical trials involving the endobronchial or systemic delivery of autologous adipose tissue-derived or unrelated-donor, placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells have not convincingly demonstrated that these treatments are acceptably safe. The results of other ongoing clinical trials may help to identify the best source and delivery route of mesenchymal stem cells and to estimate the risk of unwanted effects related to the mesenchymal nature of the transplanted cells. Considering that most of the therapeutic potential of these cells has been ascribed to paracrine signaling, the use of mesenchymal stem cell-derived secretome as an alternative to the transplantation of single cell suspension may circumvent many regulatory and clinical problems. Technical and safety concerns still limit the possibility of clinical applications of other promising interventions that are based on the use of human amnion stem cells, embryo

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

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