Research advance in mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy for diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the main cause of end-stage kidney disease and has become a global public health problem. Currently, treatment of DN is limited to alleviating disease progression rather than curing diseases or restoring renal function, thus more effective therapeutic strategies against DN are urgently needed. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely applied in the prevention and treatment of DN. Preclinical studies have proved that MSCs exhibited favourable therapeutic effects on DN by regulation of hyperglycaemia, reduction of urinary albumin, and protecting renal function. Hence this review provides an overview of the biological properties of MSCs, summarises the regulatory mechanisms of MSC-based therapy for DN, presents ongoing or completed clinical trials, as well as discusses the potential challenges and new strategies of MSCs in the treatment of DN, with the aim of providing a balanced and unbiased view of MSC transplantation as promising therapeutic strategies for DN.