Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Graft-Versus-Host Disease

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Regenerative medicine and stem cells offer great promise for treating graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). GVHD is a severe complication following a bone marrow transplant and can be challenging to treat. There is currently no cure for GVHD, but new therapies are being developed that may improve outcomes for patients.

One promising new therapy is the use of stem cells to treat GVHD. Stem cells can develop into many different types of cells and self-renew, which means they can divide and make more stem cells. Through the targeted application of stem cells at the point of treatment, the stem cells can differentiate into beneficial, regenerative cells. This makes them ideal for any use in regenerative medicine, as they have the potential to repair and replace damaged tissue.

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Stem cell therapy is still in the early stages of development, but several ongoing clinical trials are investigating its potential for treating GVHD. One trial uses stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood to treat patients with GVHD. Cord blood is a rich source of stem cells and effectively treats other diseases, such as leukemia.

Another trial is using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to treat GVHD. MSCs are a type of stem cell that can be derived from bone marrow or fat tissue. They can differentiate into many cell types, including skin, muscle, and bone. Through the targeted application of MSCs at the point of treatment, the MSCs can differentiate into beneficial, regenerative cells.MSCs have also effectively treated diseases like Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

REFERENCES

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2. Kordelas L, da Silva Nardi F, Wagner B, Ditschkowski M, Liebregts T, Lindemann M, et al. Elevated soluble human leukocyte antigen G levels in patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation are associated with less severe acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2018. doi: 10.1038/s41409-018-0145-1.
3. Gao L, Zhang Y, Hu B, Liu J, Kong P, Lou S, et al. Phase II Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind Controlled Study of Efficacy and Safety of Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in the Prophylaxis of Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease After HLA-Haploidentical Stem-Cell Transplantation. J Clin Oncol. 2016;34(24):2843-50. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2015.65.3642.
4. Wang L, Zhu CY, Ma DX, Gu ZY, Xu CC, Wang FY, et al. Efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stromal cells for the prophylaxis of chronic graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Ann Hematol. 2018;97(10):1941-1950.
5. Krasowska-Kwiecien A, Gozdzik J, Jarocha D, Wozniak M, Czogala W, Wiecha O, et al. Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Salvage Treatment for Severe Refractory Graft-vs-Host Disease in Children After Bone Marrow Transplantation. Transplant Proc. 2019;51(3):880-889. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2019.01.023.
6. Bozkurt C, Karaöz E, Adaklı Aksoy B, Aydoğdu S, Fışgın T. The Use of Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Childhood Steroid-Resistant Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease: A Retrospective Study of a Single-Center Experience. Turk J Haematol. 2019;36(3):186-192. doi: 10.4274/tjh.galenos.2019.2019.0090.
7. Bonig H, Kuçi Z, Kuçi S, Bakhtiar S, Basu O, Bug G, et al. Children and Adults with Refractory Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease Respond to Treatment with the Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Preparation “MSC-FFM”-Outcome Report of 92 Patients. Cells. 2019;8(12). pii: E1577. doi: 10.3390/cells8121577.
8. Boberg E, von Bahr L, Afram G, Lindström C, Ljungman P, Heldring N, et al. Treatment of chronic GvHD with mesenchymal stromal cells induces durable responses: A phase II study. Stem Cells Transl Med. 2020;9(10):1190–202. doi: 10.1002/sctm.20-0099.
9. Lv X, Qi J, Zhou M, Shi B, Cai C, Tang Y, et al. Comparative efficacy of 20 graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis therapies for patients after hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation: A multiple-treatments network meta-analysis. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2020;150:102944. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2020.102944.
10. Li R, Tu J, Zhao J, Pan H, Fang L, Shi J. Mesenchymal stromal cells as prophylaxis for graft-versus-host disease in haplo-identical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients with severe aplastic anemia?-a systematic review and meta-analysis. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2021;12(1):106. doi: 10.1186/s13287-021-02170-7.
11. Morata-Tarifa C, Macías-Sánchez MDM, Gutiérrez-Pizarraya A, Sanchez-Pernaute R. Mesenchymal stromal cells for the prophylaxis and treatment of graft-versus-host disease-a meta-analysis. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2020;11(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s13287-020-01592-z.
12. Döring M, Cabanillas Stanchi KM, Lenglinger K, Treuner C, Gieseke F, Erbacher A, et al. Long-term follow-up after the application of mesenchymal stromal cells in children and adolescents with steroid-refractory graft-versus-host disease. Stem Cells Dev. 2021. doi: 10.1089/scd.2020.0191.
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