Stem Cell Therapy Benefits Severe Lupus

Previous studies have suggested that mesenchymal stem cells in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are defective with regard to cytokine secretion, phenotype, and immunomodulatory activities. Jun Liang, from Nanjing University (China), and colleagues posited that SLE may be considered as a mesenchymal stem cell-mediated disease, and thus proposed that allogenic, rather than autologous, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation might be an effective treatment. The team enrolled 15 subjects, average age 28.3 years, with refractory SLE (average disease duration of 91.1 months), along with healthy family member donors.  Subjects underwent allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell transplantation (MSCT), and were followed for a subsequent period of 18-24 months.  Eight of 11 patients who had longstanding fatigue, weight loss, or low-grade fever were relieved of these symptoms three months after receiving the stem cell therapy.  Among 8 subjects with cutaneous manifestations, severe lesions healed completely in four and at least partially in the other four.  Arthritis improved in four of six patients who had musculoskeletal involvement, serositis resolved in two, neurologic manifestations cleared in one, and refractory hypertension became controllable in five. Notably, antibody levels dropped, with anti-double strand DNA antibodies reaching a statistically significant difference from baseline at one and three months.  While 2 patients did relapse, no serious adverse events were seen during follow-up.  Writing that: “Allogeneic [mesenchymal stem cell transplantation] in patients with refractory lupus resulted in amelioration of disease activity, improvement in serological markers and stabilization of renal function,”  the researchers urge that: “[Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation] appears beneficial in treatment of patients with [systemic lupus erythematosus] refractory to conventional treatment options.“