Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the synovial
joints and, if not treated properly, can lead to multiple progressive articular and
extra-articular damage. Its pathogenesis is primarily associated with an inadequate
immune response and dysregulated cytokine production. However, RA is also linked to
disruption in oxygen metabolism, impaired redox signaling, acidosis and aberrant intercellular
communication. Even though treatment modalities have made RA a manageable disease,
a significant number of patients still do not respond satisfactorily or suffer considerably
from the adverse events of conventional therapy. In recent years, cell-based strategies,
especially the administration of the mesenchymal/medicinal stem/signaling cells (MSCs),
have been proposed as a novel and very promising therapeutic approach. RA patients
may benefit from the potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties and
tissue-repair potential of MSCs. Furthermore, the satisfactory safety profile of MSC
therapy has been already demonstrated in several clinical studies. This review summarizes
current understanding of the pathomechanism behind RA at the molecular and cellular
level and focuses on MSC-based clinical research and applications of MSCs for RA treatment.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 26, 2022
Accepted:
October 14,
2021
Received:
May 26,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
