About this Research Topic
Cell therapy is the transplantation of human or animal cells to replace or repair certain sets of cells in patients. The injected cells could also secrete cytokines to cure diseases in a similar way to traditional drug therapy. Notable cases include RPE (retinal pigment epithelium, differentiated from embryonic stem cell) transplantation for macular degeneration, mesenchymal stem cells for uveitis, and CAR-T therapy (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Immunotherapy) for tumor immunotherapy. Given that the immune system plays a crucial role in a multitude of diseases, immunopharmacology, manipulating the immune system and immune responses by pharmacological modulators, are often tied together with cell therapy for treatment, especially in oncotherapy. Large amounts of projects have been launching in these areas, cell therapy has already been trendy among contemporary medicine, with a significant impact on human healthcare and offered a unique insight for treatments of previously intractable diseases.
As a new wave of disease treatment, cell therapy is facing various challenges currently. Firstly, it remains a barrier to isolate and expand a clinically relevant number of stem cells for treatments. The quality and quantities of stem cells play key roles in clinical efficiency and safety, involving proliferation and differentiation ability, purity, and the number of living cells. Secondly, the survival rate after transplantation is a key determinant for many cell therapies. In most situations, exogenous stem cells follow the fate of apoptosis or rejection by the host’s immune system, losing their therapeutic value. Therefore, it’s also a vital to focus on immunopharmacology research to protect transplanted cells from the host immune system. Thirdly, the off-target effect and generation of cytokines storm are the common problems in cell-based immunotherapy. How to avoid these unwished events should have a seat in scientific hotspots of cell therapy, making the cell work in the right places needs further exploring.
This Research Topic aims to present a forum for the publication of cutting-edge studies to highlight the potential for cell therapy. We hope to gather significant Original Research articles and Review articles focusing on all aspects of cell therapy. As mentioned above, related immunopharmacological researches are also of interest in this topic. We hope this topic can broaden our horizons in cell therapy and provide novel components for the treatment of diseases.
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.
