Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) Therapy: Mechanisms, Clinical Efficacy, and Future Perspectives

There is currently no approved drug treatment for metabolic dysfunction-related fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) show therapeutic potential, but their mechanism of action is remains incompletely understood. Different from previous reviews that focused on a single pathway, this article presents three important contributions: First, it constructs an integrated “multi-target synergy network” model, clarifying how UC-MSCs coordinate and regulate the inflammatory, metabolic and fibrotic processes through the interactions between the AMPK/mTOR, Nrf2/HO-1 and TGF-β/Smad pathways; Second, it systematically assesses recent clinical trials (2022–2025), identifying several unaddressed barriers to transformation, including the lack of histological endpoint indicators, batch-to-batch differences, and the absence of dose exploration studies; Third, we integrate the latest developments from 2024 to 2025, particularly mitochondrial transfer (mediated by tunnel nanotubes and accompanied by quantitative efficacy data) and exosome circular RNA networks \:circ−Tulp4/miR−34a/NF−κBaxis , which have not been covered in previous reviews. Based on the above analysis, we also propose specific suggestions for standardized GMP production, mandatory genomic stability testing, and long-term safety registration. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of elaborates on the treatment of MAFLD with UC-MSCs from a mechanistic and translational perspective, based on the extensive updates of relevant literature.