Mesenchymal stem cells in suppression or progression of hematologic malignancy: current status and challenges

• Published in: Leukemia 2019-03, Vol.33 (3), p.597-611
• Main Authors: Lee, Myoung Woo, Ryu, Somi, Kim, Dae Seong, Lee, Ji Won, Sung, Ki Woong, Koo, Hong Hoe, Yoo, Keon Hee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13/100; 13/2; 13/95; 631/532; 631/80/82; 692/308/2171; 692/308/2778; 692/700/565/2319; 96/100; 96/95; Animals; Anticancer properties; Antineoplastic agents; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - physiology; Blood cancer; Cancer; Cancer Research; Cancer treatment; Care and treatment; Cell proliferation; Cell Proliferation - physiology; Clinical trials; Critical Care Medicine; Development and progression; Disease Progression; Hematologic diseases; Hematologic Neoplasms - pathology; Hematology; Heterogeneity; Humans; Intensive; Internal Medicine; Leukemia; Lymphoma; Lymphomas; Malignancy; Medical research; Medical schools; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mesenchymal stem cells; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - pathology; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - physiology; Mesenchyme; Oncology; Review; Review Article; Stem cells; Therapeutic applications; Tumors
• ISSN: 0887-6924; 1476-5551
• DOI: 10.1038/s41375-018-0373-9

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known for being multi-potent. However, they also possess anticancer properties, which has prompted efforts to adapt MSCs for anticancer therapies. However, MSCs have also been widely implicated in pathways that contribute to tumor growth. Numerous studies have been conducted to adapt MSCs for further clinical use; however, the results have been inconclusive, possibly due to the heterogeneity of MSC populations. Moreover, the conflicting roles of MSCs in tumor inhibition and tumor growth impede their adaptation for anticancer therapies. Antitumorigenic and protumorigenic properties of MSCs in hematologic malignancies are not as well established as they are for solid malignancies, and data comparing them are still limited. Herein the effect of MSCs on hematologic malignancies, such as leukemia and lymphoma, their mechanisms, sources of MSCs, and their effects on different types of cancer, have been discussed. This review describes how MSCs preserve both antitumorigenic and protumorigenic effects, as they tend to not only inhibit tumor growth by suppressing tumor cell proliferation but also promote tumor growth by suppressing tumor cell apoptosis. Thus clinical studies trying to adapt MSCs for anticancer therapies should consider that MSCs could actually promote hematologic cancer progression. It is necessary to take extreme care while developing MSC-based cell therapies in order to boost anticancer properties while eliminating tumor-favoring effects. This review emphasizes that research on the therapeutic applications of MSCs must consider that they exert both antitumorigenic and protumorigenic effects on hematologic malignancies.