| خلاصه مقاله | Cancer, as a complicated disease, is considered to be one of the major leading causes of death
globally. Although various cancer therapeutic strategies have been established, however,
some issues confine the efficacies of the treatments. In recent decades, biomedical
researchers for finding novel and efficient therapeutic solutions have extensively focused on
the abilities of stem cells in cancer inhibition. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are
multipotent stromal cells that can the most widely extracted from various sources such as the
bone marrow (BM), placenta, umbilical cord (UC), UC blood, menses blood, endometrium,
wharton's jelly (WJ), adipose tissue, dental pulp (DP), and amnion. Generally, MSCs are
known plastic adherent cells that express surface markers including CD105, CD73, and CD90
and lack the expression of hematopoietic markers such as CD45, CD34, and CD14. These
cells are capable of differentiating into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes in vitro.
Due to the unique characteristics of MSCs such as paracrine effects, immunomodulation,
tumor-tropism, and migration, they are considered promising candidates for cancer
therapeutics. Currently, MSCs are an excellent living carrier for delivery of therapeutic genes
and chemical agents to target tumor sites. Also, exosomes, the most important extracellular
vesicle released from MSCs, act as a strong cell-free tool for cancer therapeutics. MSCs can
prevent cancer progression by inhibiting several signaling pathways, such as wnt/β-catenin,
PI3K/AKT/mTOR, and JAK/STAT. However, there are several challenges associated with
the use of MSCs and their exosomes in the field of therapy that need to be considered. This
review explores the significance of MSCs in cell-based therapy, focusing on their homing
properties and immunomodulatory characteristics. It also examines the potential of using
MSCs as carriers for delivery of anticancer agents and their role in modulating the signal
transduction pathways of cancer cells. |