Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45267-0527, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45267-0527, USA.
Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45267-0527, USA.
Ocul Surf. 2022 Oct;26:255-267. doi: 10.1016/j.jtos.2022.10.003. Epub 2022 Oct 12.
Since their inception in the 1960s-70s, mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have gained interest because of their differentiation potential, anti-inflammatory effects, and immune-modulating properties. Both cell-based and cell-free MSC treatments show healing capacity in injured tissues. Cell-based treatment comprises MSCs and all secreted products, whereas cell-free treatments include only the secreted products. MSCs are therapeutically administered to many damaged organs owing to their efficacy. Specifically, the eye is a unique organ system to study the effects of MSCs, as treatment is easily applied and measured owing to its external location. The eye holds an immune-privileged status, wherein inflammation and immune responses are innately down-regulated. As excessive inflammation in the cornea often leads to fibrosis and irreversible corneal hazing, many studies have investigated the anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating capacities of MSCs. Decades of research suggest that MSCs modulate the immune response by secreting cytokines, growth factors, and extracellular matrix proteins that inhibit the infiltration of inflammatory cells following injury and promote a healing phenotype via M2 macrophage polarization. MSCs have also shown trans-differentiation potential into cornea-specific cell types during the wound healing process, such as corneal epithelial, stromal, or endothelial cells. This review discusses recent investigations of MSC treatment in the cornea, focusing on therapeutic efficacy, mechanisms, and future directions.
自 20 世纪 60 年代-70 年代问世以来，间充质干细胞（MSCs）因其分化潜能、抗炎作用和免疫调节特性而受到关注。基于细胞和无细胞的 MSC 治疗均显示出在受损组织中的愈合能力。基于细胞的治疗包括 MSC 和所有分泌产物，而无细胞治疗仅包括分泌产物。由于其疗效，MSC 被广泛应用于许多受损器官的治疗。具体而言，由于眼睛的位置易于治疗和测量，因此眼睛是研究 MSC 作用的独特器官系统。眼睛具有免疫特权状态，其中炎症和免疫反应天然受到抑制。由于角膜中的过度炎症常导致纤维化和不可逆转的角膜混浊，因此许多研究调查了 MSC 的抗炎和免疫调节能力。数十年的研究表明，MSC 通过分泌细胞因子、生长因子和细胞外基质蛋白来调节免疫反应，这些物质抑制损伤后炎症细胞的浸润，并通过 M2 巨噬细胞极化促进愈合表型。MSC 还显示出在伤口愈合过程中转分化为角膜特异性细胞类型的潜力，例如角膜上皮细胞、基质细胞或内皮细胞。本综述讨论了最近关于 MSC 治疗角膜的研究，重点介绍了治疗效果、机制和未来方向。
