WITHDRAWN: Cell therapies for inflammatory bowel disease

Ahead of Print article withdrawn by publisher. Present therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is aimed at relieving inflammation and treating signs and symptoms. Despite an optimized use of immunosuppressors and the new biologic agents, the need for intestinal resection in Crohn's disease (CD)has remained stable.1[1] Primary and secondary failure to respond to approved therapies, and in some cases inability to provide a surgical solution to a particular patient due to extension and/or location of lesions, represent unmet needs in the treatment of IBD. Two streams of research, experimental and clinical, are the origin of the increasing utilization of cell therapies for severe immune-mediated diseases including IBD, these include stem cell therapies, and selected/conditioned immune cell therapy, such as dendritic and regulatory T cells (Tregs). Over the last decade, significant responses have been documented to hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT) in many therapy-resistant immune-mediated disorders. Durable remission after immune reconstitution and tissue remodeling suggests an effect beyond profound immunosuppression. Although promising, HSCT for CD is still experimental and its toxicity leaves this option for a considerably reduced number of refractory patients in whom the disease is not amenable to surgical resection. In CD, where loss of tolerance towards commensal bacteria has been invoked in disease development, it would be justified to test the efficacy of tolerance-promoting cell therapies. Various approaches are being explored and have shown promising results in experimental models of autoimmunity. These include administration of mesenchimal stem cells, Tregs or tolerogenic dendritic cells.