Therapeutic Application of Perinatal Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major global problem, and its complications seriously threaten the human health. The failure of pancreatic islet β-cells and insulin resistance are the main mechanism of the occurrence and the development of DM, and this can be induced by immune damage and inflammatory response. The current antidiabetic drugs, which do not focus on the link of the onset of diabetes, can only relieve or alleviate the symptoms, delay the progression of the disease, but cannot cure the disease. A developing field in diabetes therapy is the application of some stem populations, in particular those defined as “perinatal,” derived from fetus-associated tissues usually discarded at birth. Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) are multipotent, self-renewing adult stem cells showing immunoregulatory properties and are capable to secrete an array of soluble cytokines and growth factors. Accumulating evidence showed that UC-MSCs can transdifferentiate into insulin-producing cells (IPCs) in vitro. Animal experiments and small sample clinical trials have validated the effectiveness and safety of UC-MSC therapy for diabetes. This chapter reviews the progress that has been made in UC-MSC treatment for diabetes, discusses the underlying mechanisms, and also raises the remaining hurdles.