Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Nov 26, 2019; 11(11): 957-967
Published online Nov 26, 2019. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v11.i11.957
Cytokine interplay among the diseased retina, inflammatory cells and mesenchymal stem cells - a clue to stem cell-based therapy
Vladimir Holan, Barbora Hermankova, Magdalena Krulova, Alena Zajicova
Vladimir Holan, Barbora Hermankova, Magdalena Krulova, Alena Zajicova, Department of Transplantation Immunology, Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 14220, Czech Republic
Vladimir Holan, Barbora Hermankova, Magdalena Krulova, Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague 12843, Czech Republic
Author contributions: All authors reviewed the literature, contributed to writing, and approved the manuscript.
Supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, No. 17-04800S, No. 18-04393S, No. 19-02290S; the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, No. SVV 244-260435, No. NPU-I: LO1508, No. NPU-I: LO1309.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that 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/
Corresponding author: Vladimir Holan, PhD, Professor, Department of Transplantation Immunology, Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, Prague 14220, Czech Republic. vladimir.holan@iem.cas.cz
Telephone: +420-241063226
Received: May 25, 2019
Peer-review started: May 27, 2019
First decision: July 31, 2019
Revised: September 2, 2019
Accepted: September 13, 2019
Article in press: September 13, 2019
Published online: November 26, 2019
Core Tip

Core tip: Cell-based therapy using autologous mesenchymal stem cells represents a perspective approach for the treatment of so far incurable degenerative retinal diseases. However, the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells strongly depends on the cytokine environment, where these cells are delivered. In this study, we discuss recent knowledge regarding the interactions and interplay among cytokines produced by cells of the diseased retina, inflammatory immune cells and therapeutically administered mesenchymal stem cells. We suggest that these interactions among cytokines and growth factors occurring in the microenvironment of the diseased retina could be critical for the outcome of the stem cell-based therapy for retinal disorders.