Therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cells on renal ischemia–reperfusion injury: a matter of genetic transfer?

Accumulating evidence indicates that the protective effect of mesenchymal stem cells in models of tissue injury is related to the endocrine/pcrine release of factors. The delivery of growth factors, cytokines, prostaglandins, enzymes or extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stem cells to target cells may induce cell reprogramming and de novo expression of factors involved in tissue proliferation and repair. A recent paper showed that Wharton jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells interact with injured renal tubular epithelial cells, inducing the expression of native and foreign hepatocyte growth factor necessary for renal repair and fibrogenesis inhibition. The genetic exchange between resident and mesenchymal stem cells, probably mediated through microvesicles, therefore appears instrumental in mesenchymal stem cell therapeutic effects.