ReviewScience advances2020
Shattering barriers toward clinically meaningful MSC therapies.
Review in Science advances, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 439 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
439 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 680 citations in OpenAlex.
- Therapeutic potential of dental mesenchymal stem cells versus mesenchymal stem cells from other sources: a systematic review of animal studies.BMC oral health · 2025Pooled it
- Mesenchymal stem cell based therapies for uveitis: a systematic review of preclinical studies.Eye (London, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cells therapy in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of translational medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Cellular immunotherapy for COVID-19-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome: Results of the CIRCA-19 phase 1 safety and phase 2 randomized controlled trials.Stem cell reports · 2026Trial
- On-chip 3D potency assay for prediction of clinical outcomes for cell therapy candidates for osteoarthritis.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of topical mesenchymal stem cell exosome in Sjögren's syndrome-related dry eye: a randomized clinical trial.BMC ophthalmology · 2025Trial
- Mechanically preconditioned stem cells therapy using bioinspired liver-mimetic microspheres for functional liver repair.Bioactive materials · 2026Article
- Treatment of animal models of Alzheimer's disease with extracellular vesicles or exosomes and involvement of microRNAs.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Homing and Migration of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Clinical Applications: Molecular Mechanisms, Translational Barriers, and Therapeutic Optimization.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2026Review
- Horizontal mitochondrial transfer and mitochondrial transplantation in skin: protection against UVR-induced ROS damage and enhancement of cell proliferation and wound healing.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Special Issue "Feature Reviews in Mesenchymal Stem Cells".Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Advances in the clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells for neurological disorders.Stem cell research & therapy · 2026Review
- MSC-Hydrogel Composite Systems for Knee Cartilage Repair and Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Localized immunomodulation with cytokine-producing cells to mitigate foreign body responses in rodents and a nonhuman primate.Science advances · 2026Article
- Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-Based Therapies in Sepsis-Induced Acute Lung and Kidney Injury: Current Advances and Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Extracellular matrix-mimic nanofibrous microspheres: fabrication and application in stem cell delivery for tissue repair and regeneration.Materials today. Bio · 2026Review
- Next-generation programmable cell therapies for precision medicine.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- A Universal Bio-Hybrid Nanoparticle Backpack Platform Endows Stem Cells with Microenvironmental Resilience and Sustained Paracrine Signaling.Nano-micro letters · 2026Article
- Advances and prospects in cell therapy for cancer: explorations from T cells to stem cells.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Review
- Exosomes from mesenchymal stem/stromal cells and their therapeutic role in osteoarthritic pain.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2026Article
379 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
More than 1050 clinical trials are registered at FDA.gov that explore multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for nearly every clinical application imaginable, including neurodegenerative and cardiac disorders, perianal fistulas, graft-versus-host disease, COVID-19, and cancer. Several companies have or are in the process of commercializing MSC-based therapies. However, most of the clinical-stage MSC therapies have been unable to meet primary efficacy end points. The innate therapeutic functions of MSCs administered to humans are not as robust as demonstrated in preclinical studies, and in general, the translation of cell-based therapy is impaired by a myriad of steps that introduce heterogeneity. In this review, we discuss the major clinical challenges with MSC therapies, the details of these challenges, and the potential bioengineering approaches that leverage the unique biology of MSCs to overcome the challenges and achieve more potent and versatile therapies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.