OBJECTIVES: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disease that results from impaired insulin secreting pancreatic β-cells or insulin resistance. Although available medications help control the disease, patients suffer from its complications. Therefore, finding effective therapeutic approaches to treat DM is a priority. Adipose Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) based therapy is a promising strategy in various regenerative medicine applications, but its systematic translational use is still somewhat out of reach. This review is aimed at clarifying achievements as well as challenges facing the application of ADSCs for the treatment of DM, with a special focus on the mechanisms involved.
METHODS: Literature searches were carried out on "Scopus", "PubMed" and "Google Scholar" up to September 2022 to find relevant articles in the English language for the scope of this review.
RESULTS: Recent evidence showed a significant role of ADSC therapies in DM by ameliorating insulin resistance and hyperglycemia, regulating hepatic glucose metabolism, promoting β cell function and regeneration, and functioning as a gene delivery tool. In addition, ADSCs could improve diabetic wound healing by promoting collagen deposition, inhibiting inflammation, and enhancing angiogenesis.
CONCLUSION: Overall, this literature review revealed the great clinical implications of ADSCs for translating into the clinical setting for the treatment of diabetes. However, further large-scale and controlled studies are needed to overcome challenges and confirm the safety and optimal therapeutic scheme before daily clinical application.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01280-8.
* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.