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Article History

Received: 16 September 2025

Accepted: 6 May 2026

First Online: 4 June 2026

Declarations

:

: All authors agree to publish their manuscript in Stem Cell Research & Therapy.

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: The authors affirm that no generative AI technologies were used in the creation or writing of this manuscript. As a retrospective literature review that did not involve direct patient data or intervention, this study was exempt from ethical approval by institutional policy.

: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify studies investigating mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The search was performed across the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases, covering the period from database inception to May 2025. To capture the most recent advances while ensuring a comprehensive historical context, we prioritized publications from the last five years (2020–2025), while also including seminal earlier studies that established foundational concepts (e.g., the discovery of MSCs, first reports of HSC transplantation in SLE). The search strategy employed combinations of the following keywords: “Mesenchymal Stromal Cells,” “Mesenchymal Stem Cells,” “MSCs,” “Systemic Lupus Erythematosus,” “SLE,” “Immunomodulation,” “Clinical Trial,” “Efficacy,” “Safety,” “Cell Therapy,” and “Extracellular Vesicles.” Additional relevant studies were identified by searching the ClinicalTrials.gov registry and by manually screening the reference lists of included articles. Studies were included if they were (1) original research articles, clinical trials, or review articles focusing on MSC-based therapies for SLE, and (2) written in English. Exclusion criteria were (1) non-English publications, (2) conference abstracts, editorials, or letters without original data, (3) duplicate publications, and (4) studies focusing exclusively on basic mechanisms without any translational or clinical relevance to SLE. Two authors (S.J.D. and S.Y.W.) independently screened titles, abstracts, and full texts, with disagreements resolved through discussion or consultation with a third reviewer (Y.N.C.). For clinical studies, the quality and risk of bias were assessed using appropriate tools (e.g., the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized controlled trials, and the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for case series), ensuring a rigorous evaluation of the available evidence. For preclinical studies, methodological quality was assessed based on randomization, blinding, and control groups. For clinical studies, we evaluated potential biases related to selection, performance, and reporting, acknowledging the current scarcity of large-scale randomized controlled trials as a limitation in the field.

: It is noted that the acronym “MSC” has historically referred to both “mesenchymal stem cells” and “mesenchymal stromal cells.” In alignment with the 2025 guidelines issued by the International Society for Cellular Therapy, the term “mesenchymal stromal cells” is adopted throughout this review unless otherwise specified.