Effectiveness of Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetic Foot Ulcers: Cell Therapy Alone is Not Enough for Effective Management of Chronic Wounds

Abstract

We read with great interest the meta-analysis by Mudgal et al. (2024) regarding the effectiveness and safety assessment of stem cell therapy for diabetic foot ulcers. Indeed, The management of chronic wounds requires innovative approaches to avoid unsuccessful outcomes, and stromal cell therapies have emerged as a potential solution for soft tissue repair. A critical aspect of this therapeutic strategy is the role of mast cells in stimulating delayed inflammation through their interactions with various cells as well as the extracellular matrix. Mast cells are critical in orchestrating the inflammatory response and their activation can influence macrophage behavior and secondary healing efficacy. The use of mesenchymal stromal cells in regenerative medicine for diabetic foot ulcers treatment is often limited by their time-limited anti-inflammatory responses. However, these time-limited effects could not achieve the prolonged effects and impact of cell therapy efficacy and the potential enhancement of cell function by biologically active factors such as growth factors or gene therapeutics for prolonged release. The integration of cell and prolonged release gene therapeutics is a promising approach that goes beyond regenerative medicine by preventing secondary inflammatory complications. While mesenchymal stromal cells have shown promising results in experimental and clinical studies, there are limitations to their efficacy in regenerative medicine for diabetic foot ulcers. These limitations include the heterogeneity of cell populations used in the studies, the difficulty in determining the contribution of cells when used in combination with materials, the lack of data on optimal cell numbers for tissue repair, the effect of culture conditions on cell therapy efficacy, and the potential enhancement of cell efficacy by the use of additional biologics such as growth factors or gene therapeutics. The combination of cell and gene therapy is seen as a promising approach that goes beyond regenerative medicine into the field of molecular surgery of chronic wounds.