About this Research Topic
Tissue regeneration includes an immune component, and the immune cells through their powerful influence in shaping many contexts of repair and development are important regulators of regeneration success. Lessons from highly regenerative organisms established that successful regeneration involves innate and adaptive immunity. Then, delivering regenerative therapies could rely on mastering the complex immune/inflammatory network of cells and molecules regulating tissue and wound homeostasis to “prepare the ground” for subsequent tissue regeneration and repair. Many recent regenerative/repair strategies are now focusing on triggering immunomodulation and resolving inflammation to regenerate and repair injured tissues and organs. From this standpoint, stem cells isolated from various tissues including bone marrow, amniotic fluid, cardiac, or even the placenta, exhibit profound anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory effects on a range of innate and adaptive immune cells. Whether in suspension or within bio-matrixes, stem cell-based strategies are, therefore, a promising mean of regeneration and repair. Allogeneic regenerative strategies are “histo-incompatible” and would be recognized by the host immune system (direct or indirect allorecognition), but ongoing research advocates that such recognition would lower host immunological response by modulatory or regulatory mechanisms providing the requirements for a regenerative-permissive immune environment.
Currently, allogeneic biotherapeutics for cancer treatment and beyond also offer several qualitative and quantitative advantages over autologous treatment, including cost-effectiveness, which is key for good translation from basic research towards patient care and personalized medicine. While allogenicity in the context of tissue regeneration and repair could be a component driving beneficial immune responses, it is a challenge of operational development of CAR-engineered T cells, the cutting-edge biotherapeutics where the use of third-party cells is challenged by the immune barriers. Within such perspective, the search for the “universal cell” through genetic edition and beyond is today the holy grail of many innovative cell-based therapeutics which could be used in every patient without being rejected and/or causing detrimental consequences.
This Research Topic welcomes contributions addressing the immunology of regenerative strategies and biotherapies with engineered cells, the lessons learned from allogeneic versus autologous strategies, pre-clinical and clinical trials, and from the past and contemporary strategies towards immune-educated successful tailored medicine to combat degenerative disorders, chronic inflammation, but also cancer and autoimmune disorders.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.