Open AccessClinical Trial of Human Umbilical Cord Blood‐Derived Stem Cells for the Treatment of Moderate‐to‐Severe Atopic Dermatitis: Phase I/IIa Studies
Author(s) -
Kim HyungSik,
Lee Ji Hyun,
Roh KyoungHwan,
Jun Hee Jin,
Kang KyungSun,
Kim TaeYoon
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1002/stem.2401
Subject(s) - scorad , umbilical cord , adverse effect , mesenchymal stem cell , atopic dermatitis , medicine , stem cell , clinical trial , biomarker , gastroenterology , immunology , pathology , disease , biology , biochemistry , dermatology life quality index , genetics
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been proven to be therapeutically effective against atopic dermatitis (AD) in preclinical studies. However, the safety and efficacy of MSCs against AD have not yet been investigated in a clinical study. To establish the safety and efficacy of human umbilical cord blood‐derived MSCs (hUCB‐MSCs) in AD, 34 adult patients with moderate‐to‐severe AD were enrolled in two phase trials with a follow‐up for 1 month and 3 months, respectively. Patients were randomly allocated to receive low dose (2.5 × 10 7 ) or high dose (5.0 × 10 7 ) of hUCB‐MSCs subcutaneously. An Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score, Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) score, Severity Scoring for Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) score, adverse effect assessments, and serum biomarker levels were evaluated as end points. A single treatment of hUCB‐MSCs resulted in dose‐dependent improvements in AD manifestation. Fifty‐five percent of patients in high dose hUCB‐MSC‐treated group showed a 50% reduction in the EASI score. The IGA score and SCORAD score decreased by 33% and 50%, respectively, in high dose‐treated group. Particularly, the administration of high dose hUCB‐MSCs reduced the pruritus score by 58%. The serum IgE levels and number of blood eosinophils were downregulated by the treatment. No serious adverse events occurred, and none of the patients discontinued the trial due to adverse events. This is the first report to demonstrate a marked improvement of AD features with cell therapeutics. These data suggest that the infusion of hUCB‐MSCs might be an effective therapy for patients with moderate‐to‐severe AD. S tem C ells 2017;35:248–255