Mesenchymal stromal cells 2.0: thinking outside the box
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are non-hematopoietic progenitor cells that can be derived from a variety of sources including bone marrow and adipose tissues among others. MSCs are plastic adherent and easy to culture ex vivo, making them attractive platforms for cell-based technologies. They have...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Immunology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1657048/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849233703396442112 |
|---|---|
| author | Gabrielle A. Mandl Malak Lahrichi Perla Matar Jamilah Abusarah Roudy Farah Jean Pierre Bikorimana Abba Cisse Moutih Rafei Moutih Rafei Moutih Rafei |
| author_facet | Gabrielle A. Mandl Malak Lahrichi Perla Matar Jamilah Abusarah Roudy Farah Jean Pierre Bikorimana Abba Cisse Moutih Rafei Moutih Rafei Moutih Rafei |
| author_sort | Gabrielle A. Mandl |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are non-hematopoietic progenitor cells that can be derived from a variety of sources including bone marrow and adipose tissues among others. MSCs are plastic adherent and easy to culture ex vivo, making them attractive platforms for cell-based technologies. They have an impressive immunoplasticity and can express a suppressive or inflammatory phenotype depending on their stimuli. While MSCs are mainly used in tissue regeneration or as a tool to suppress unwanted inflammation, their pro-inflammatory phenotype includes their ability to act as antigen presenting cells (APCs). This property, along with their ease of expansion and manipulation, make them excellent candidates as alternatives to dendritic cell-based technologies, especially for cancer vaccination. To generate stable MSCs with an APC-like phenotype, two main venues have been explored: genetic and pharmacological reprogramming. Routes to generating MSC-APCs have shown great promise in therapeutic and prophylactic settings in vivo, demonstrating effective tumor control in multiple murine models. Mechanistically, MSC-APCs appear to be generated in response to reactive oxygen species and endoplasmic reticulum stress. While much remains to be uncovered with respect to their phenotype, these reprogrammed cells show great promise as the next generation of cancer vaccine platforms. Herein, we describe the state-of-the-art in routes to reprogramming MSCs and discuss their future in the immune-oncology space as potent cancer vaccines. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dfa764926f0b4b838bdf1c104e5c73e4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-3224 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Immunology |
| spelling | doaj-art-dfa764926f0b4b838bdf1c104e5c73e42025-08-20T04:14:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Immunology1664-32242025-08-011610.3389/fimmu.2025.16570481657048Mesenchymal stromal cells 2.0: thinking outside the boxGabrielle A. Mandl0Malak Lahrichi1Perla Matar2Jamilah Abusarah3Roudy Farah4Jean Pierre Bikorimana5Abba Cisse6Moutih Rafei7Moutih Rafei8Moutih Rafei9Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaMolecular Biology Program, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaMolecular Biology Program, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaMesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are non-hematopoietic progenitor cells that can be derived from a variety of sources including bone marrow and adipose tissues among others. MSCs are plastic adherent and easy to culture ex vivo, making them attractive platforms for cell-based technologies. They have an impressive immunoplasticity and can express a suppressive or inflammatory phenotype depending on their stimuli. While MSCs are mainly used in tissue regeneration or as a tool to suppress unwanted inflammation, their pro-inflammatory phenotype includes their ability to act as antigen presenting cells (APCs). This property, along with their ease of expansion and manipulation, make them excellent candidates as alternatives to dendritic cell-based technologies, especially for cancer vaccination. To generate stable MSCs with an APC-like phenotype, two main venues have been explored: genetic and pharmacological reprogramming. Routes to generating MSC-APCs have shown great promise in therapeutic and prophylactic settings in vivo, demonstrating effective tumor control in multiple murine models. Mechanistically, MSC-APCs appear to be generated in response to reactive oxygen species and endoplasmic reticulum stress. While much remains to be uncovered with respect to their phenotype, these reprogrammed cells show great promise as the next generation of cancer vaccine platforms. Herein, we describe the state-of-the-art in routes to reprogramming MSCs and discuss their future in the immune-oncology space as potent cancer vaccines.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1657048/fullmesenchymal stromal cellscancerimmunotherapyvaccineantigen-presenting cells |
| spellingShingle | Gabrielle A. Mandl Malak Lahrichi Perla Matar Jamilah Abusarah Roudy Farah Jean Pierre Bikorimana Abba Cisse Moutih Rafei Moutih Rafei Moutih Rafei Mesenchymal stromal cells 2.0: thinking outside the box Frontiers in Immunology mesenchymal stromal cells cancer immunotherapy vaccine antigen-presenting cells |
| title | Mesenchymal stromal cells 2.0: thinking outside the box |
| title_full | Mesenchymal stromal cells 2.0: thinking outside the box |
| title_fullStr | Mesenchymal stromal cells 2.0: thinking outside the box |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mesenchymal stromal cells 2.0: thinking outside the box |
| title_short | Mesenchymal stromal cells 2.0: thinking outside the box |
| title_sort | mesenchymal stromal cells 2 0 thinking outside the box |
| topic | mesenchymal stromal cells cancer immunotherapy vaccine antigen-presenting cells |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1657048/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gabrielleamandl mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox AT malaklahrichi mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox AT perlamatar mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox AT jamilahabusarah mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox AT roudyfarah mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox AT jeanpierrebikorimana mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox AT abbacisse mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox AT moutihrafei mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox AT moutihrafei mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox AT moutihrafei mesenchymalstromalcells20thinkingoutsidethebox |