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World J Stem Cells. Feb 26, 2023; 15(2): 16-30
Published online Feb 26, 2023. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v15.i2.16
Mesenchymal stem cells in ischemic tissue regeneration
Renata Szydlak
Renata Szydlak, Chair of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków 31-034, Poland
Author contributions: Szydlak R wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author reports having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Renata Szydlak, PhD, Postdoc, Research Assistant Professor, Chair of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kopernika 7, Kraków 31-034, Poland. renata.szydlak@doctoral.uj.edu.pl
Received: October 14, 2022
Peer-review started: October 14, 2022
First decision: November 5, 2022
Revised: November 10, 2022
Accepted: January 18, 2023
Article in press: January 18, 2023
Published online: February 26, 2023
Processing time: 129 Days and 8.4 Hours
Abstract

Diseases caused by ischemia are one of the leading causes of death in the world. Current therapies for treating acute myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and critical limb ischemia do not complete recovery. Regenerative therapies opens new therapeutic strategy in the treatment of ischemic disorders. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the most promising option in the field of cell-based therapies, due to their secretory and immunomodulatory abilities, that contribute to ease inflammation and promote the regeneration of damaged tissues. This review presents the current knowledge of the mechanisms of action of MSCs and their therapeutic effects in the treatment of ischemic diseases, described on the basis of data from in vitro experiments and preclinical animal studies, and also summarize the effects of using these cells in clinical trial settings. Since the obtained therapeutic benefits are not always satisfactory, approaches aimed at enhancing the effect of MSCs in regenerative therapies are presented at the end.

Keywords: Ischemia; Mesenchymal stem cells; Regenerative medicine; Stem cell therapy; Clinical applications

Core Tip: Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation is an innovative therapy with positive therapeutic effects for many ischemic diseases. Ischemia of an area is defined as insufficient blood supply to specific tissues and various organs or individual parts of the body. The leading cause of tissue ischemia is the narrowing or blockage of the lumen of an artery, most often due to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, thrombus, or spasms of a specific artery. Here, the potential therapeutic mechanisms of MSCs in ischemic diseases were discussed, along with examples of preclinical and clinical studies.