Nie P, Qin W, Nie WC, Li B. Progress in the application of mesenchymal stem cells to attenuate apoptosis in diabetic kidney disease. World J Diabetes 2025; 16(6): 105711 [DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i6.105711]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Bing Li, Department of Nephropathy, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218 Ziqiang Street, Changchun 130041, Jilin Province, China. li_bing2020@jlu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Urology & Nephrology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Diabetes. Jun 15, 2025; 16(6): 105711 Published online Jun 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i6.105711
Progress in the application of mesenchymal stem cells to attenuate apoptosis in diabetic kidney disease
Ping Nie, Wei Qin, Wei-Chen Nie, Bing Li
Ping Nie, Wei Qin, Bing Li, Department of Nephropathy, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130041, Jilin Province, China
Wei-Chen Nie, Basic Clinical Specialization in Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun 130117, Jilin Province, China
Author contributions: Nie P wrote the original draft; Qin W made the diagrams; Nie WC searched for information; Li B offered recommendations for improvement; All the prepared collaboratively the draft, and consented to the submitted version.
Supported by Science and Technology Research Program of Jilin Provincial Department of Education, No. JJKH20231218KJ; and Project of the Jilin Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 2024111.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report 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: Bing Li, Department of Nephropathy, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218 Ziqiang Street, Changchun 130041, Jilin Province, China. li_bing2020@jlu.edu.cn
Received: February 17, 2025 Revised: March 24, 2025 Accepted: April 25, 2025 Published online: June 15, 2025 Processing time: 117 Days and 8.6 Hours
Abstract
Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) has a high incidence and mortality rate and lacks effective preventive and therapeutic methods. Apoptosis is one of the main reasons for the occurrence and development of DKD. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown great promise in tissue regeneration for DKD treatment and have protective effects against DKD, including decreased blood glucose and urinary protein levels and improved renal function. MSCs can directly differentiate into kidney cells or act via paracrine mechanisms to reduce apoptosis in DKD by modulating signaling pathways. MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) mitigate apoptosis and DKD-related symptoms by transferring miRNAs to target cells or organs. However, studies on the regulatory mechanisms of MSCs and MSC-EVs in apoptosis in DKD are insufficient. This review comprehensively examines the mechanisms of apoptosis in DKD and research progress regarding the roles of MSCs and MSC-EVs in the disease process.
Core Tip: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) represents a prevalent and serious complication of diabetes. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) show promise for treating DKD by regulating apoptosis; however, challenges such as a lack of standardization, hinder their clinical application. This review examines the research progress on the roles of MSCs and MSC-EVs in this disease.
