Tumor-tropic Trojan horses: Using mesenchymal stem cells as cellular nanotheranostics

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Cancer Research

Background:

• Nanotheranostics offer combined tumor imaging and therapy but face challenges in specificity and tumor distribution.
• Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess inherent tumor-tropic properties, making them suitable for targeted nanotheranostic delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current status of cellular nanotheranostics utilizing MSCs for preclinical cancer models.
• To highlight the need for understanding MSC tumor-tropism mechanisms for improved nanotheranostic delivery.

Main Methods:

• Review of preclinical studies on cellular nanotheranostics.
• Analysis of MSC properties and their application in cancer therapy and imaging.

Main Results:

• MSCs can act as a 'Trojan horse' to deliver nanotheranostics, potentially overcoming limitations of specificity and distribution.
• Current knowledge on MSC tumor-homing signaling pathways is limited.

Conclusions:

• Cellular nanotheranostics using MSCs show potential for multimodal cancer imaging and therapy.
• Engineering MSCs based on a deeper understanding of their tumor-tropism could significantly enhance therapeutic efficacy and image-guided delivery.