间充质干细胞及其临床应用中的几个问题

Some problematic issues about mesenchymal stem cells and their clinical application

在血液病的治疗方面,骨髓造血干细胞的作用早已得到公识。目前,在许多国家间充质干细胞已经被批准进入多个临床试验,用于治疗移植物抗宿主病、克罗恩氏病、肝脏纤维化和骨关节损伤等多种疾病。然而,有关体内间充质干细胞的本质、体外培养后间充质干细胞的特性变化、细胞移植后在体内的分布、间充质干细胞治疗的作用机制及其临床应用的安全性等诸多根本性的问题,必须在间充质干细胞被广泛应用之前得以明确。这里尚有多少个不确定的环节?尚有多少个需要认识的关键性问题?文章结合以上问题,对近几年间充质干细胞的研究进展进行了综述和分析。

Till now, mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs） have been officially approved in a series of clinical trials to treat the patients with graft-versus-host disease, Crhon’s disease, liver fibrosis and osteoarticular injuries. However, before their wide use in clinical settings, the basic problematic issues about MSCs should be clarified. These key points, which will be here reviewed based on the recent advances on MSCs during the past several years, include the essences of MSCs inherently existing in vivo, the changes of their biological features after in vitro expansion, in vivo distribution after transplantation, the underlying mechanisms of MSCs therapy and its safety in clinical application.