Stem cell therapy in autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a comprehensive review

The clinical management of autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) has undergone significant changes in the last few decades, leading to remarkable improvements in clinical outcomes of many patients with mild to moderate ARD. On the other hand, severe refractory ARD patients often have high morbidity and mortality. Extensive basic research and clinical evidence has opened the door to new encouraging perspectives, such as the establishment of a role of stem cell transplantation (SCT) in the strategic management of ARD. Given the great heterogeneity of ARD, it is difficult to assign an optimal SCT regimen to all ARD patients. SCT remains a challenging mode of therapy in ARD patients from the standpoints of both efficacy and safety. As the clinical data of SCT in ARD increases and as we improve our understanding of stem cell biology and the downstream effects on the immune system, the future is promising for the development of optimal personalized SCT regimens in ARD.