The potential role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs, also called mesenchymal stromal cells) in endogenous repair and cell-based therapies for acute kidney injury (AKI) is under intensive investigation. Preclinical studies indicate that administered MSCs both ameliorate renal injury and accelerate repair. These versatile cells home to sites of injury, where they modulate the repair process. The mechanisms responsible for their protective and regenerative effects are incompletely understood. Some have reported that MSCs are capable of direct engraftment into injured nephrons under certain circumstances. This is highly controversial, however, and even those who argue there is engraftment acknowledge that the primary means of repair by these cells most likely involves paracrine and endocrine effects, including mitogenic, antiapoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and angiogenic influences. There is a good deal of interest in MSC-based approaches for the treatment of human kidney injury, thanks to positive preclinical results, the strong clinical need for novel therapies to treat AKI, the ease of isolation and expansion of MSCs, and encouraging preliminary clinical trial results in other fields. This review summarizes current knowledge and identifies gaps in our understanding of MSC biology that will need to be filled in order to translate recent discoveries into therapies for AKI in humans.

中文翻译：

---

间充质干细胞在急性肾脏损伤中的作用。

间充质干细胞（MSC，也称为间充质基质细胞）在内源性修复和基于细胞的急性肾损伤（AKI）治疗中的潜在作用正在深入研究中。临床前研究表明，施用的MSC可改善肾损伤并加速修复。这些多用途细胞位于损伤部位，在此处调节修复过程。对其保护和再生作用负责的机制尚未完全了解。一些报告说，MSC在某些情况下能够直接植入受损的肾单位。但是，这引起了很大争议，甚至那些认为存在移入的人也承认，这些细胞修复的主要手段很可能涉及旁分泌和内分泌作用，包括促有丝分裂，抗凋亡，抗炎和血管生成的影响。由于临床前的积极结果，对治疗AKI的新型疗法的强烈临床需求，对MSC的分离和扩展的简便性以及鼓励进行初步临床研究，基于MSC的方法治疗人肾损伤引起了人们极大的兴趣其他领域的试用结果。这篇综述总结了当前的知识，并确定了我们对MSC生物学的理解中需要填补的空白，以便将最新发现转化为人类AKI疗法。并鼓励其他领域的初步临床试验结果。这篇综述总结了当前的知识，并确定了我们对MSC生物学的理解中需要填补的空白，以便将最新发现转化为人类AKI疗法。并鼓励其他领域的初步临床试验结果。这篇综述总结了当前的知识，并确定了我们对MSC生物学理解中的空白，需要将这些空白填补，以便将最新发现转化为人类AKI疗法。