Research progress of mesenchymal stem cells in treating lung injury / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cell therapy, as a new treatment strategy, has great treatment potential for lung injury. OBJECTIVE: To review the roles and protective mechanisms of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of lung injury, providing theoretical basis for clinical treatment of lung injury with mesenchymal stem cells. METHODS: We searched the articles about the treatment of mesenchymal stem cells for lung injury from May 2001 to May 2019 in WanFang, CNKI, PubMed and Web of Science databases. The retrieval terms were “mesenchymal stem cells, lung injury, pulmonary injury, lung” in Chinese and English. After excluding old and repetitive articles, a total of 53 articles were included for further analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) After summarizing the definition and characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells and its mechanism of treating lung injury, we found that mesenchymal stem cells can treat lung injury by their own functions and by producing various cytokines and exosomes. (2) The related signaling pathways of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of lung injury are summarized, such as PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway and nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway. (3) Combined use of mesenchymal stem cells and other drugs, such as erythropoietin and corticosteroids, can enhance the therapeutic effects on lung injury. (4) This article can provide theoretical basis for the treatment of lung injury with mesenchymal stem cells in the clinical practice.