Skin disease may correlate with immunological disorders, external aggressions or genetic conditions. Injuries or cutaneous diseases like wounds, burns, psoriasis and scleroderma are frequently encountered pathologies in dermatology, where conventional treatments may be ineffective in a subset of the population. 

Advancements in treatment like those using human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) derived from different sources are emerging as a promising strategy for the treatment of many pathologies. Their properties; regenerative, immunomodulatory and differentiation capacities make them a potential candidate for treating cutaneous diseases. A study analyzed 13 types of hMSCs used as advanced therapy and found:

• hMSCs isolated from umbilical cord blood (hUCB-MSCs), adipose tissue (hAT-MSCs) and bone marrow (hBM-MSCs) were the most investigated types. 
• Wounds and ulcers, burns and psoriasis were the most studied diseases. 
• The most popular animal models for in vitro studies are mice and rats, in which a wide spectrum of types of hMSCs was used. 
• Cell therapy by intravenous administration is the advanced therapy preferred in clinical studies but for wounds and burns tissue engineering was also popular. 
• The majority of the clinical trials had high safety and only local slight adverse events (mild nausea or abdominal pain). 
• Effectiveness was difficult to compare as different doses were administered and variables were measured, but in general, wound’s size reduction percentage was >80% in wounds, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and Severity Scoring for Atopic Dermatitis were markedly decreased, for scleroderma, parameters like Modified Rodnan skin score (MRSC) or European Scleroderma Study Group activity index showed an improvement and for hypertrophic scars, Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) score was reduced after applying aforementioned therapies. 

Thus, hMSCs can be regarded as a promising strategy for treating cutaneous diseases, however, the nature of the variables between the studies demands more research to establish the best treatment for each patient and disease.

Source: Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021;9:643125.