Roles of intestinal stem cells in inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis

Table 1 Comparison of hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and organoids for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Characteristic	HSCT	MSCT	Organoid therapy
Main source	Bone marrow, peripheral blood, cord blood	Bone marrow, adipose tissue, muscle connective tissue, periosteum, perichondrium	Adult stem cells (e.g., intestinal stem cells)
Primary mechanism	Reconstitution of the immune system, suppress abnormal immune responses	Anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, tissue repair	Replace damaged epithelium, reconstruct intestinal barrier
Clinical stage	Numerous clinical trials; used in refractory severe IBD cases	Active clinical trials; some products commercially available	Mostly in preclinical and early-stage research
Indications	Severe IBD unresponsive to conventional therapy	Moderate-to-severe IBD, especially perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease	Severe epithelial damage
Adverse effects	Infections, high treatment risk	Rare; mild fever or local reactions occasionally reported	Safety still under investigation

HSCT: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; MSCT: Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation; IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease.