Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: What Is the Mechanism in Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease?

Neil Dunavin1, Ajoy Dias2, Meizhang Li3

  • 1Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics, University of Kansas Cancer Center, 2330 Shawnee Mission Pkwy., Westwood, KS 66205, USA. ndunavin@kumc.edu.

Biomedicines
|July 4, 2017
PubMed

After more than a decade of preclinical and clinical development, therapeutic infusion of mesenchymal stromal cells is now a leading investigational strategy for the treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). While their clinical use continues to expand, it is still unknown which of their immunomodulatory properties contributes most to their therapeutic activity. Herein we describe the proposed mechanisms, focusing on the inhibitory activity of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) at immunologic checkpoints. A deeper understanding of the mechanism of action will allow us to design more effective treatment strategies.

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