ReviewEmerging topics in life sciences2021
Mesenchymal stromal cells: what have we learned so far about their therapeutic potential and mechanisms of action?
Review in Emerging topics in life sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of mesenchymal stromal cells to treat coronavirus disease 2019: is it too late?Cytotherapy · 2023Pooled it
- Dimethyl sulfoxide in cryopreserved mesenchymal stromal cell therapy products: is there a safety risk to patients?Journal of translational medicine · 2025Review
- Menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cell secretome modulates macrophage polarization in a preconditioning-dependent manner.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Article
- Protective potential of BM-MSC extracted Exosomes in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease.PloS one · 2025Article
- Near infrared conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPN™) for tracking cells using fluorescence and optoacoustic imaging.Nanoscale advances · 2023Article
- Liver Disease and Cell Therapy: Advances Made and Remaining Challenges.Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio) · 2023Review
- Harmonised culture procedures minimise but do not eliminate mesenchymal stromal cell donor and tissue variability in a decentralised multicentre manufacturing approach.Stem cell research & therapy · 2023Article
- DEAE-Dextran Enhances the Lentiviral Transduction of Primary Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from All Major Tissue Sources Without Affecting Their Proliferation and Phenotype.Molecular biotechnology · 2023Article
- Evaluation of Cytotoxicity and Bioimaging of Nitrogen-Vacancy Nanodiamonds.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Current topics in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine: a regional perspective from the United Kingdom.Emerging topics in life sciences · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been found to be safe and effective in a wide range of animal models of human disease. MSCs have been tested in thousands of clinical trials, but results show that while these cells appear to be safe, they tend to lack efficacy. This has raised questions about whether animal models are useful for predicting efficacy in patients. However, a problem with animal studies is that there is a lack of standardisation in the models and MSC therapy regimes used; there appears to be publication bias towards studies reporting positive outcomes; and the reproducibility of results from animal experiments tends not to be confirmed prior to clinical translation. A further problem is that while some progress has been made towards investigating the mechanisms of action (MoA) of MSCs, we still fail to understand how they work. To make progress, it is important to ensure that prior to clinical translation, the beneficial effects of MSCs in animal studies are real and can be repeated by independent research groups. We also need to understand the MoA of MSCs to assess whether their effects are likely to be beneficial across different species. In this review, we give an overview of the current clinical picture of MSC therapies and discuss what we have learned from animal studies. We also give a comprehensive update of what we know about the MoA of MSCs, particularly in relation to their role in immunomodulation.
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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.