Therapeutic effects of human adipose mesenchymal stem cells and their paracrine agents on sodium iodate induced retinal degeneration in rats.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• 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)

The degeneration of retinal neurons which occurs in many neurodegenerative diseases of retina such as retinitis pigmentosa and aged-related macular degeneration, is a progressive phenomenon and leads to permanent visual disability. Aside from their economic and social impact, those who suffer from these diseases have a poor quality of life due to the lack of cures. Researchers have turned to stem cell therapies as a potential solution to this global health crisis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their paracrine agents such as conditioned medium (CM) and exosomes (Exo) have been applied to treat different retinal disorders. This study compared the therapeutic effects of human adipose mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs) and their secretome on an in vivo model of sodium iodate retinal neurodegeneration. We analyzed the expression of retinal cells' specific mRNAs by RT-PCR and proteins by immunostaining as well as performing visual cliff avoidance test as a functional evaluation technique. There were four therapeutic groups in this study: hADSC, hADSC-CM, hADSC-Exo and hADSC-Exo + CM. Although all groups showed different therapeutic effects on various retinal cells, the results of hADSC-CM were most striking, especially in terms of photoreceptor regeneration and retinal function. The findings of present study demonstrated the different effects of MSC-based therapies on various retina

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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