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Stem cell experiments moves into clinic: new hope for children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia
K Pawelec1, D Gładysz, U Demkow
1Polish Stem Cell Bank, Warsaw, Poland, katarzyna.pawelec@litewska.edu.pl.
Insights
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) show promise for treating bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature infants. Further research is needed to optimize MSC therapy for this chronic lung disease.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Regenerative Medicine
- Pulmonology
Background:
- Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a significant chronic lung disease in premature infants, often requiring mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy.
- Current BPD treatments have limitations, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes and reduce associated morbidities like periventricular leukomalacia and retinopathy.
- Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are being investigated as a potential therapeutic agent due to their regenerative properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current advancements in mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).
- To highlight the potential of MSCs derived from umbilical cord Wharton's jelly for treating prematurity-related diseases.
- To identify key questions regarding MSC administration for BPD, including dosage, timing, and route.
Main Methods:
- Review of preclinical data supporting the role of progenitor cells in lung structure preservation.
- Analysis of the potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) isolated from umbilical cord Wharton's jelly.
- Discussion of ongoing research into optimizing MSC therapy parameters for BPD treatment.
Main Results:
- Preclinical evidence suggests MSCs can preserve lung structure, indicating their therapeutic potential for BPD.
- Umbilical cord Wharton's jelly is a viable source for MSCs, particularly from preterm infants.
- Optimal parameters for MSC administration (dose, interval, route, timing) and patient selection markers are still under investigation.
Conclusions:
- Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy presents a promising avenue for treating bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and other diseases of prematurity.
- Further research is crucial to address remaining questions regarding the effective and safe application of MSCs in BPD.
- Identifying biomarkers to predict BPD risk in premature infants is essential for targeted MSC interventions.
Abstract:
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease with long-term complications that affects mainly preterm born children with low birth weights, especially those treated with mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy. Successful treatment of BPD could reduce the incidence of other diseases of prematurity such as periventricular leukomalacia and retinopathy. The effects of current therapies are unsatisfactory; thus, searching for novel therapeutic is underway. One promising approach seems administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Preclinical data strongly support the role of progenitor cells in the preservation of lung structure. MSC can be found more often in pre-term than term umbilical cord and its isolation from Wharton's jelly carries a potential in treating diseases of prematurity. Several questions concerning the use of MSC in BPD remain to be answered, including the amount of transferred cells, intervals between infusions, the best route for administration and the timing. MSC can be administered as a treatment or prophylaxis. However, having in mind that not all prematurely born children are at risk of developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a search for laboratory markers identifying potential patients should be conducted. This review summarizes the latest achievements in MSC therapy in the context of BPD.
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