Roles of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Breast Cancer Therapy: Engineered Stem Cells and Exosomal Cell-Free Based Therapy

Mohsen Karami Fath; Seyed Sajjad Zadian; Samaneh Mohammad Bagherzadeh Torbati; Vahid Saqagandomabadi; Omid Yousefi Afshar; Mohammad Khalilzad; Sara Abedi; Afshin Moliani; Ghasem Barati

doi:10.2174/0115665240274818231207054037

Roles of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Breast Cancer Therapy: Engineered Stem Cells and Exosomal Cell-Free Based Therapy

Curr Mol Med. 2024 Jan 24. doi: 10.2174/0115665240274818231207054037. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mohsen Karami Fath¹, Seyed Sajjad Zadian², Samaneh Mohammad Bagherzadeh Torbati³, Vahid Saqagandomabadi⁴, Omid Yousefi Afshar⁵, Mohammad Khalilzad⁶, Sara Abedi⁷, Afshin Moliani⁸, Ghasem Barati⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Mazandaran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
⁵ Clinical Research Development Unit, Valiasr Hospital, Tabriz, Iran.
⁶ Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
⁷ Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
⁸ Isfahan Medical Students Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
⁹ Stem Cell Technology Research Center, Tehran, Iran.

PMID: 38275063
DOI: 10.2174/0115665240274818231207054037

Abstract

Breast cancer has a high prevalence among women, with a high mortality rate. The number of people who suffer from breast cancer disease is increasing, whereas metastatic cancers are mostly incurable, and existing therapies have unfavorable side effects. For an extended duration, scientists have dedicated their efforts to exploring the potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the treatment of metastatic cancers, including breast cancer. MSCs could be genetically engineered to boost their anticancer potency. Furthermore, MSCs can transport oncolytic viruses, suicide genes, and anticancer medicines to tumors. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are MSC products that have attracted scientist's attention as a cell-free treatment. This study narratively reviews the current state of knowledge on engineered MSCs and their EVs as promising treatments for breast cancer.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells; breast cancer; cancer therapy; cell therapy; cell-free therapy; extracellular vesicle; genetic modification.