Stem Cells and Cell Therapy: Critical Review

What is it about?

Stem cells and cell therapies are popular topics in the medical and biological literature. Differentiation of exogenous stem cells in the direction of various specialized tissues, replacement of aging and pathologically altered cells is discussed. Some publications exaggerate healing properties of stem cells with insufficient attention to side effects: oncological, immunological and infectious. The long list of positive results obtained in experiments of questionable reliability is not an indisputable proof of effectiveness and safety. The clinical use of stem cells makes sense only if the cells participate in the formation of adequately functioning tissue or the replacement of damaged cellular elements. At that, there should be no significant side effects. There is no satisfactory evidence of compliance with these conditions to date. Alternative action mechanisms (paracrine, trophic, immunomodulatory) are hard to comprehend theoretically, as there is no reason to expect morphologically primitive stem cells to exert more developed specialized functions than mature cells. The main predestination of stem cells is mitosis, not the synthesis of biologically active substances or exosomes. This mini-review briefly examines the theoretical and practical aspects of the use of stem cells in certain diseases of the heart, joints, liver, and central nervous system. Perhaps some stem cell therapies are promising fields of research. The same can be said about mature cells and cell-free preparations with paracrine or other effects of cell therapy. Some directions may turn out to be dead ends. Financing such research diverts funds from promising areas.

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