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World J Stem Cells. Nov 26, 2016; 8(11): 376-383
Published online Nov 26, 2016. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v8.i11.376
Mesenchymal stem cell therapy in retinal and optic nerve diseases: An update of clinical trials
Sonia Labrador-Velandia, María Luz Alonso-Alonso, Sara Alvarez-Sanchez, Jorge González-Zamora, Irene Carretero-Barrio, José Carlos Pastor, Iván Fernandez-Bueno, Girish Kumar Srivastava
Sonia Labrador-Velandia, María Luz Alonso-Alonso, José Carlos Pastor, Iván Fernandez-Bueno, Girish Kumar Srivastava, Instituto Universitario de Oftalmobiología Aplicada, Universidad de Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
Sara Alvarez-Sanchez, Jorge González-Zamora, Irene Carretero-Barrio, José Carlos Pastor, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Valladolid, 47005 Valladolid, Spain
José Carlos Pastor, Iván Fernandez-Bueno, Girish Kumar Srivastava, Centro en Red de Medicina Regenerativa y Terapia Celular de Castilla y León, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
José Carlos Pastor, Iván Fernandez-Bueno, Girish Kumar Srivastava, Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Oftared, 28029 Madrid, Spain
José Carlos Pastor, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, 47003 Valladolid, Spain
Author contributions: All the authors contributed to the paper.
Supported by A grants from the Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León, No. VA118U14; and the Centro en Red de Medicina Regenerativa y Terapia Celular de la Junta de Castilla y León, 47011 Valladolid.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Girish Kumar Srivastava, PhD, Principal and Senior Investigator, Instituto Universitario de Oftalmobiología Aplicada, Universidad de Valladolid, Campus Miguel Delibes, Paseo de Belén, 17, 47011 Valladolid, Spain. girish@ioba.med.uva.es
Telephone: +34-9-83184753 Fax: +34-9-83184762
Received: June 8, 2016
Peer-review started: June 14, 2016
First decision: July 11, 2016
Revised: July 23, 2016
Accepted: September 13, 2016
Article in press: September 18, 2016
Published online: November 26, 2016
Abstract

Retinal and optic nerve diseases are degenerative ocular pathologies which lead to irreversible visual loss. Since the advanced therapies availability, cell-based therapies offer a new all-encompassing approach. Advances in the knowledge of neuroprotection, immunomodulation and regenerative properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been obtained by several preclinical studies of various neurodegenerative diseases. It has provided the opportunity to perform the translation of this knowledge to prospective treatment approaches for clinical practice. Since 2008, several first steps projecting new treatment approaches, have been taken regarding the use of cell therapy in patients with neurodegenerative pathologies of optic nerve and retina. Most of the clinical trials using MSCs are in I/II phase, recruiting patients or ongoing, and they have as main objective the safety assessment of MSCs using various routes of administration. However, it is important to recognize that, there is still a long way to go to reach clinical trials phase III-IV. Hence, it is necessary to continue preclinical and clinical studies to improve this new therapeutic tool. This paper reviews the latest progress of MSCs in human clinical trials for retinal and optic nerve diseases.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells, Cell therapy, Optic nerve diseases, Clinical trials, Retinal diseases

Core tip: Advances in the knowledge of neuroprotection, immunomodulation and regenerative properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are contributed by several preclinical studies of various neurodegenerative diseases. It has provided opportunity to perform the translation of treatment approach to the clinical practice. Several clinical trials in patients with retinal and optic nerve diseases have been developed since 2008. Most of them using MSCs are in I/II phase. However, there is still a long way to go to reach clinical trials Phase III-IV. Hence, it is necessary to continue with preclinical and clinical studies to improve this new therapeutic tool.