Potential of Cellular Therapy for ALS: Current Strategies and Future Prospects

Ting-Jung Lin; Guang-Chao Cheng; Luo-Yun Wu; Wei-Yu Lai; Thai-Yen Ling; Yung-Che Kuo; Yen-Hua Huang

doi:10.3389/fcell.2022.851613

Potential of Cellular Therapy for ALS: Current Strategies and Future Prospects

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2022 Mar 16:10:851613. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.851613. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ting-Jung Lin^{1

2}, Guang-Chao Cheng^{1

2}, Luo-Yun Wu^{1

2}, Wei-Yu Lai^{2

3}, Thai-Yen Ling^{4

5}, Yung-Che Kuo³, Yen-Hua Huang^{2

3

6

7

8

9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ TMU Research Center for Cell Therapy and Regeneration Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Research Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁶ International Ph.D. Program for Cell Therapy and Regeneration Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁷ Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁸ Center for Reproductive Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁹ TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Comprehensive Cancer Center of Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹¹ PhD Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive upper and lower motor neuron (MN) degeneration with unclear pathology. The worldwide prevalence of ALS is approximately 4.42 per 100,000 populations, and death occurs within 3-5 years after diagnosis. However, no effective therapeutic modality for ALS is currently available. In recent years, cellular therapy has shown considerable therapeutic potential because it exerts immunomodulatory effects and protects the MN circuit. However, the safety and efficacy of cellular therapy in ALS are still under debate. In this review, we summarize the current progress in cellular therapy for ALS. The underlying mechanism, current clinical trials, and the pros and cons of cellular therapy using different types of cell are discussed. In addition, clinical studies of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in ALS are highlighted. The summarized findings of this review can facilitate the future clinical application of precision medicine using cellular therapy in ALS.

Keywords: ALS; cellular therapy; mesenchymal stem cell; motor neuron degeneration; precision medicine.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by research grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (Grant numbers: MOST110-2314-B-038-132, and MOST110-2314-B-038-034) to Y-HH, and the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan (Grant numbers: DP2-109-21121-01-T-03-02 and DP2-110-21121-01-T-03-02); Taipei Medical University (Grant number: TMU109-AE1-B02) to Y-CK.