Cellular therapy in Tuberculosis

Summary Cellular therapy now offer promise of potential adjunct therapeutic options for treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). We review here the role of Mesenchymal stromal cells, (MSCs), as well as other immune effector cells in the therapy of infectious diseases with a focus on TB. MSCs represent a population of tissue-resident non-hematopoietic adult progenitor cells which home into injured tissues increase the proliferative potential of broncho-alveolar stem cells and restore lung epithelium. MSCs have been shown to be immune-modulatory and anti-inflammatory mediated via cell-cell contacts as well as soluble factors. We discuss the functional profile of MSCs and their potential use for adjunct cellular therapy of multi-drug resistant TB, with the aim of limiting tissue damage, and to convert unproductive inflammatory responses into effective anti-pathogen directed immune responses. Adjunct cellular therapy could potentially offer salvage therapy options for patients with drug-resistant TB, increase clinically relevant anti- M.tuberculosis directed immune responses and possibly shorten the duration of anti-TB therapy.