Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), consisting primarily of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. The pathogenesis of IBD has been thoroughly studied throughout the past few decades, such as defective gut epithelial barrier, immune responses, genetic predisposition, infections, and dysbiosis. Recent studies have revealed the unexpected importance of intestinal stem cells (ISCs) in the pathophysiology of IBD. The rapid recovery and continuous self-renewal of intestinal epithelial cells depend on ISCs within the crypts. Proliferation and differentiation of ISCs is an important cytological basis for repairing damaged intestinal mucosa. Unfortunately, as a new therapeutic goal in IBD, mucosal healing is difficult to achieve with current treatments. Stem cell therapy is an emerging treatment for IBD that allows mucosal healing by rebuilding the mucosal barrier. In this review, we present the current research progress on the role of ISCs in IBD and discuss stem cell-based therapies that have been specifically designed for its treatment.
Zhang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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