Mesenchymal stem cells for rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the progressive erosion of the synovial membrane, destruction of cartilage, bone erosion, and, ultimately, the loss of joint functionality. Additionally, RA may exhibit various systemic effects that can cause severe disability. Although the introduction of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has revolutionized the standard of care, a substantial proportion of the population do not achieve significant responses or develop resistance. Additionally, patients that do respond to DMARDs can have numerous adverse effects as well as limited ability to regenerate lost tissue. Here, we discuss the immunology of RA, how mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) block the pathology of RA, and we provide an overview of animal and clinical studies supporting the use of MSCs in the treatment of RA. We also describe preliminary data using our proprietary pluripotent derived MSCs (pMSC) that can be utilized for induction of antigen-specific tolerance.