Treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells
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Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is a term that is used to describe a variety of conditions that cause chronic inflammation within the digestive tract. The majority of people who suffer from IBD experience abdominal pain, weight loss, rectal bleeding, fatigue, and diarrhea. There are two types of IBD that patients generally suffer from. These include Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that is generally characterized by inflammation of the lining within the digestive tract. This can include deeper layers in the direct attack, commonly within the small intestines. However, Crohn’s disease can also impact the upper gastrointestinal tract and the large intestines.
Ulcerative colitis is a condition that results in sores and inflammation along the lining of the large intestine and the rectum within a patient. The ulcers caused by this condition can be incredibly painful and debilitating.
In some cases, patients experience mild symptoms from these conditions. However, the symptoms may be incredibly debilitating and can become life threatening if they are not addressed.
How Many People Have Inflammatory Bowel Disease?
Statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that approximately 3.1 million Americans, or 1.3% of the population of the United States, live with inflammatory bowel disease. Approximately 1.9 million of the patients diagnosed with this condition are women, while 1.2 million patients diagnosed with IBD are men. Approximately 70,000 cases are diagnosed annually in the United States.
Global statistics show that between 6 and 8 million people in the world suffer from IBD. This equates to nearly 84.3 cases per 100,000 people.
What are the Symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease?
Patients who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease may experience varying symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms reported by patients who suffer from ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease include:
- Unintentional weight loss
- Blood in their stool
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Abdominal cramping
- Reduced appetite
When patients are not treated for inflammatory bowel disease, there is a significant risk that they will suffer complications as a result of this condition. Some of the most common complications of IBD include:
- Bone loss
- Skin conditions
- Arthritis
- Inflammation of the eyes
- Kidney problems
- Liver problems and/or disorders
- Increased risk of intestinal cancer
- Intestinal perforation, which can lead to abscesses and/or fistulas
- Bowel obstructions caused by intestinal strictures
Inflammatory bowel disease can become life-threatening if it is not treated.
What Treatment Options are Available for Inflammatory Bowel Disease?
There is currently no cure for inflammatory bowel disease. However, there are several treatment options available for patients to help reduce some of the symptoms and signs that the sufferers experience.
One of the most common treatments provided for patients is an anti-inflammatory medication. These medications are often used to treat mild to moderate cases of ulcerative colitis. These can include olsalazine, mesalamine, and aminosalicylates. Doctors frequently prescribe time-limited courses of corticosteroids to patients in an effort to induce remission.
Another course of treatment that doctors routinely prescribe to victims who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease is immune system suppressors. These medications work to suppress the immune response that is responsible for releasing chemicals that are inflammatory inducing. These chemicals can cause damage to the digestive tract lighting when they are released. Some of the most common immunosuppressant medications that are prescribed to patients include methotrexate, mercaptopurine, and azathioprine.
Biologics are another type of medication that is routinely provided for patients who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease. These medications are provided to neutralize proteins in the body that can cause inflammation.
Antibiotics are also provided to patients when there is a concern about infections. It is more common for people who suffer from perianal Crohn’s disease to receive antibiotic treatments.
Doctors can also prescribe pain relievers, anti-diarrheal medications, vitamins, and supplements to patients who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease.
The majority of medications that are provided to patients are designed to provide them with some relief. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for inflammatory bowel disease, whether Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
More recently, we have seen a group of scientists turn to the use of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells to treat inflammatory bowel disease. The results of these tests have been quite promising.
What are Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells?
Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells, often referred to as UC-MSCs, are a type of stem cell that has shown to be incredibly effective when it comes to treating various degenerative and autoimmune disorders UC-MSCs are a type of adult stem cell that is removed from the cells of the umbilical cord. In particular, scientists isolate UC-MSCs from Wharton’s jelly of the umbilical cord.
This type of stem cells is particularly unique due to the fact that they have the ability to differentiate into various types of cells, including:
- Hepatocytes
- Osteoblasts
- Chondrocytes
- Adipocytes
- Myocytes
Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells have various properties that make them ideal when it comes to treating various conditions in the human body. UC-MSCs are one of the most accepted types of stem cells by transplantation recipients. This is due to the fact that they are immune privileged. In addition, they have anti-inflammatory properties, which allow them to reduce inflammation in the recipient. Furthermore, they are able to secrete a variety of cytokines and growth factors, which can help to promote nerve regeneration.
When it comes to treating people who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, the use of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells in studies has shown promising results.
Studies Surrounding the use of UC-MSCs for Treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The overall findings of the clinical trials have been very promising when it comes to utilizing this method of treatment for people who suffer from Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases.
In recent years, scientists have utilized umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells in studies surrounding the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. One study published in 2021 found promising results when it came to this type of treatment. This study surrounds the use of UC-MSCs in treating a group of mouse models. The study focused on the effect that umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells had on: barrier function, intestinal inflammation, and the proportion of T cells. The results determined that intraperitoneal injections of the UC-MSCs were effective in ameliorating symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease and reducing the mortality rate associated with the disease. The study found that the mesenchymal stem cells improved the destruction of tight junction structures in the micro Valley within the intestines. It also increased the expression of TJ proteins and resulted in the loss of goblet cells and decreased intestinal mucosa permeability.
Another study published in 2021 focused on a combination of 46 scientific studies involving a total of 18 humans and 28 animal subjects that were being intravenously injected with UC-MSCs. This study focused more on groups that suffered from Crohn’s disease. The results of this study found that mesenchymal stem cell therapy was effective in reducing the symptoms associated with this disease. Subjects who received stem cell transplantation experienced lower histopathological scores, reduced Crohn’s disease activity index levels, and reduced myeloperoxidase levels.
Another major study surrounding the use of mesenchymal stem cells to treat IBD has determined that these stem cells have immune regulation and the ability to repair tissues within the intestines. As a result, they have shown favorable results when it comes to clinical studies surrounding animal models with inflammatory bowel disease. Studies involving the injection of mesenchymal stem cells into the injury site of the intestine were found to improve local microcirculation and cause a dramatic increase in the rate of tissue repairs within the damaged area.
One study, in particular, involved the injection of mesenchymal stem cells into 10 patients. Out of all 10 patients, seven of them experienced a complete closure of the fistula caused by the disease. Even though the other three victims did not experience complete closure, their perianal disease activity indexes and their Crohn’s disease activity indexes some dramatic improvements. None of the patients experienced any adverse reactions, even at follow-up appointments. Multiple animal studies found promising results after the injection of mesenchymal stem cells into animal models who had lesions from this disease. The studies found that the use of the stem cells were effective in treating the lesions and reducing the inflammation within the intestines.
A human trial is currently underway involving a total of 15 participants and the effects that intravenous infusions of adult umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells have on inflammatory bowel disease.
This novel approach for treating inflammatory bowel disease has proven to be promising. Over the years, we have seen very good results with the use of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells in a comes to treating subjects who suffer from ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and various other inflammatory bowel diseases. However, more studies are going to need to be performed to determine how effective the use of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells is when it comes to effectively treating or curing inflammatory bowel disease.
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