Cell Therapy involves transferring intact, live cells into a patient to treat a disease. The use of Cell Therapies has been successful for several years. For example, bone marrow transplants are used to treat leukaemia, myeloma and lymphoma. Treatment of some diseases can even result in an improved quality of life rather than a cure, such as Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MCSs) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (6). The Cells can originate either from the patient (autologous cells) or a donor (allogeneic cells) (7). The cells used in Cell Therapy can be categorised by their potential to transform into different cell types. Some of the cells that may be used include hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), skeletal muscle stem cells, lymphocytes, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), dendritic cells (DC), and pancreatic islet cells (8).
Chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) T-Cell Therapy is one of the most well-accepted cell therapies on the market. In a fleeting time, the field has grown from an initial set of constructs to a second generation that has given rise to two FDA-approved products, YESCARTA and KYMRIAH. For adults with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), as a third-line treatment in addition to standard chemotherapy. Currently, even third- and fourth-generation products are being developed (9). Although CAR-T Cell Therapies are among the fastest-growing fields in Cell Therapy. However, Stem Cell Therapy is one of the fundamental drivers of the Cell Therapy sector at present (10). This has been the case after the breakthrough of Yamanaka factors. These factors are used to convert regular cells – most commonly skin cells – into what are known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) cells, which can differentiate into other cell types and regenerating tissues (11).
Terminologies:
Yamanaka Factors: Professor Shinya Yamanaka and his team generated iPS cells from human adult fibroblasts in 2006 and whittled down the 24 transcription factors known to be crucial for early embryo development to just 4: Sox2, Oct4, Klf4, and c-Myc (Transcription factor details will be added too) known as the Yamanaka factors. These factors regulate embryonic stem cell differentiation, which engages in the creation of pluripotent stem cells (cells that can become any cell in the body), also referred to as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC): Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are characterized by their ability to self-renew and their pluripotency. An immature cell can go on to transform into all types of blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. Hematopoietic stem cells are found in the peripheral blood and the bone marrow.
Lymphocytes: Lymphocytes are white blood cells that are components of the immune system. There are two major types of lymphocytes: B cells and T cells. Antibodies produced by B cells attack invading bacteria, viruses and toxins. In this process, the T cells destroy the body's own cells that have been infected with viruses or become cancerous.
Mesenchymal stem cells(MSC): Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent adult stem cells that are present in a variety of tissues, including the umbilical cord, bone marrow [FA1] and fat tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells can divide and self-renew to form multiple tissue types, including bone, cartilage, muscle and fat cells as well as connective tissue.
Dendritic cells (DCs): Dendritic cells are antigen-presenting cells, commonly known as accessory cells in mammals. DCs are named for their tree-like or branched shapes. Their main function is to process antigen material and present it on the cell surface to the T cells of the immune system. They act as messengers between the innate and the adaptive immune systems.