Chapters authored
Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in Allergic Disease Management
Allergic diseases are a clump of disorders caused by protective or harmful immune responses to specific exogenous stimulations. To date, the worldwide prevalence of allergic diseases has caused considerable perplex to patients and guardians physically and mentally. Despite the significant advances in preclinical investigation and clinical practice, yet the effective treatment strategies for allergic diseases are far from satisfaction. State-of-the-art renewal has highlighted the involvement of mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC)-based cytotherapy for various allergic disease management including atopic dermatitis, pediatric asthma, allergic rhinitis, and urticaria, which largely attributes to the unique immunomodulatory properties and mode of action via autocrine and paracrine, direct- or trans-differentiation. In this chapter, we mainly focus on the latest updates of MSC-based investigations upon allergic disease administration as well as the concomitant prospective and challenges, which will provide overwhelming new references for MSC-based cytotherapy in regenerative medicine.
Part of the book: Allergic Disease
Mesenchymal Stem Cell-based Cytotherapy for Osteoarthritis Management: State of the Art
Osteoarthritis (OA), a principal and challenging disorder of articular cartilage, has been regarded as the most frequent and prevalent chronic disease of degenerative joints, which is caused by multiple factors including aging, trauma, overweight, joint deformity and congenital abnormality, together with the increase in life expectancy. In spite of considerable improvements that have been obtained by conducting multidisciplinary therapies such as surgical procedures and anti-inflammatory drugs, the pathogenesis and efficacy of OA with functional losses and degeneration are still elusively complicated for ascertainment. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), also termed as multipotent mesenchymal progenitor/precursor cells, skeletal stem cells, or medicinal signaling cells, are heterogeneous cell populations with hematopoietic-supporting and immunomodulatory properties, together with multilineage differentiation property. For decades, investigators have illuminated the application of the advantaged and promising sources with/without remarkable biomaterials for the treatment of recurrent and refractory disorders including OA. In this chapter, we mainly concentrate on the current progress of MSC-based cytotherapy in both preclinical study and clinical practice as well as the promising prospective and critical challenges in the field, which will conformably benefit the administration of OA in future.
Part of the book: Arthroplasty