Multifaceted Roles of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Health and Disease

Dear Colleagues,

The worldwide increase in the prevalence of obesity has raised the demand for new therapeutic strategies targeting the related chronic metabolic complications. Among different treatment options for obesity, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy attracts the most attention. The unique features of MSCs, including immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory properties, make them an ideal candidate for clinical applications. Numerous data have shown that MSCs can improve pancreatic islet cell viability and function, ameliorate hyperglycemia, improve insulin sensitivity, restore liver function, counteract dyslipidemia, lower pro-inflammatory cytokines, and reduce oxidative stress. Nevertheless, the transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells is associated with certain risks; therefore, recently, much attention has been devoted to MSC derivatives, such as exosomes or conditioned media (CM), as therapeutic agents for the treatment of metabolic complications of obesity. MSC transplantation may offer a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of metabolic complications of obesity, but randomized controlled trials are required to establish their safety and efficacy in humans prior to routine clinical use.

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the treatment of obesity-related metabolic complications such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), insulin resistance (IR), hepatic steatosis, hepatic fibrosis, infertility, vascular disorders or systemic inflammation. Authors are invited to submit original articles, review articles or meta-analyses/systematic reviews with new insights into MSC-based therapy.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Agnieszka Mikłosz
Dr. Bartłomiej Łukaszuk
Guest Editors

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• diabetes mellitus
• dyslipidemia
• insulin resistance
• metabolic syndrome
• mesenchymal stem cells
• obesity