Probing the Immunomodulatory Potential of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

Mesenchymal stem or stromal cells (MSC) are considered as a promising cellular immunotherapy as they are easily accessible, can be expanded in culture, safe and they possess immunomodulatory properties that contribute to their therapeutic efficacy. Whether immunotherapy with MSC can be used as an alternative for current immunosuppressive medication, taken by patients with auto-immune or inflammatory disorders or after transplantation, is being studied. Safety of MSC therapy has already been confirmed, however, true efficacy of MSC immunotherapy is yet to be proven. There is therefore on-going research on how to use MSC to their full therapeutic potential. With this in mind, this thesis aimed to optimize MSC for therapeutic purposes, by improving their immunomodulatory and immunogenic properties, and furthermore elucidate their mechanism of action post IV infusion.