Commentaries

Mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of stem cell therapies for inflammatory bowel diseases

Julián Panés¹, Azucena Salas²

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Barcelona, Spain
² Department of Experimental Pathology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Barcelona-CSIC, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, Barcelona, Spain

Correspondence to:
Dr Julián Panés, Department of Gastroenterolgy, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Villarroel 170, Barcelona 08036, Spain; jpanes@clinic.ub.es

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Optimised use of immunosuppression and biological therapies can provide satisfactory disease control to a significant proportion of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, these treatments are never curative and may contribute substantially to long-term morbidity. In severely affected patients, the personal and societal costs of IBD and their treatments are very high, and lack of efficacy continues to result in progressive organ damage, a need for surgery, and chronic disability.

Cellular therapy with stem cells and their progeny is a promising new approach capable of addressing yet unmet medical needs in various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The considerable excitement surrounding the stem cell field was initially based on the unique biological properties of these cells and their capacity to self-renew and regenerate tissue and organ systems; later, the immunomodulatory ability of stem cell therapy has become also apparent. A prevailing view is that two types of stem cells coexist . . . [Full text of this article]

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