title: Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.
abstract: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) comprise a heterogeneous population of multipotent cells that can be isolated from various human tissues and cultured ex vivo for clinical use. Thanks to their secretion of growth factors, immunomodulatory properties and cell-to-cell interactions, MSCs play a key role in the regulation of hematopoiesis and in the modulation of immune responses against allo- and autoantigens. In light of these properties, MSCs have been employed in clinical trials in the context of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to prevent/treat graft rejection and to treat steroid-resistant acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). The available clinical evidence derived from these studies indicates that MSC administration is safe; moreover, promising preliminary results in terms of efficacy have been reported in some clinical trials. This chapter focuses on recent advances in MSC therapy by reporting on the most important relevant studies in the field of HSCT.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Emato-Oncologia e Medicina Trasfusionale, IRCCS Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, P.le S. Onofrio, 00165, Rome, Italy. mebernardo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria Ester
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bernardo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Emato-Oncologia e Medicina Trasfusionale, IRCCS Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, P.le S. Onofrio, 00165, Rome, Italy.|Dipartimento di Scienze Pediatriche, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Locatelli
mesh_terms: D002450:Cell Communication; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004351:Drug Resistance; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
keywords: Engraftment; Graft-versus-host disease; Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Immune-regulatory properties; Inflammation; Mesenchymal stromal cells