{"title":"Engineered mesenchymal stem/stromal cells against cancer.","authors":"Yuzhu Shi, Jia Zhang, Yanan Li, Chao Feng, Changshun Shao, Yufang Shi, Jiankai Fang","doi":"10.1038/s41419-025-07443-0","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have garnered attention for their potential in cancer therapy due to their ability to home to tumor sites. Engineered MSCs have been developed to deliver therapeutic proteins, microRNAs, prodrugs, chemotherapy drugs, and oncolytic viruses directly to the tumor microenvironment, with the goal of enhancing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing off-target effects. Despite promising results in preclinical studies and clinical trials, challenges such as variability in delivery efficiency and safety concerns persist. Ongoing research aims to optimize MSC-based cancer eradication and immunotherapy, enhancing their specificity and efficacy in cancer treatment. This review focuses on advancements in engineering MSCs for tumor-targeted therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":9734,"journal":{"name":"Cell Death & Disease","volume":"16 1","pages":"113"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cell Death & Disease","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-025-07443-0","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CELL BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have garnered attention for their potential in cancer therapy due to their ability to home to tumor sites. Engineered MSCs have been developed to deliver therapeutic proteins, microRNAs, prodrugs, chemotherapy drugs, and oncolytic viruses directly to the tumor microenvironment, with the goal of enhancing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing off-target effects. Despite promising results in preclinical studies and clinical trials, challenges such as variability in delivery efficiency and safety concerns persist. Ongoing research aims to optimize MSC-based cancer eradication and immunotherapy, enhancing their specificity and efficacy in cancer treatment. This review focuses on advancements in engineering MSCs for tumor-targeted therapy.
期刊介绍:
Brought to readers by the editorial team of Cell Death & Differentiation, Cell Death & Disease is an online peer-reviewed journal specializing in translational cell death research. It covers a wide range of topics in experimental and internal medicine, including cancer, immunity, neuroscience, and now cancer metabolism.
Cell Death & Disease seeks to encompass the breadth of translational implications of cell death, and topics of particular concentration will include, but are not limited to, the following:
Experimental medicine
Cancer
Immunity
Internal medicine
Neuroscience
Cancer metabolism