From bench to bedside: advances in cell therapy for tuberculosis treatment

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health challenge, with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) presenting a serious threat to TB management. Conventional treatment faces challenges such as significant drug toxicity, frequent emergence of drug resistance, and compromised host immune microenvironment. These limitations, particularly in DR-TB cases, often lead to poor treatment outcomes and heightened recurrence rates, underscoring the need for complementary strategies. Cell-based host-directed therapy (HDT) emerges as a novel therapeutic strategy that may complement conventional drugs by directly modulating pathological immune responses and facilitating the repair of damaged tissue. This narrative review synthesizes preclinical and clinical data on cell therapy for TB. We focus on two distinct strategic approaches: (1) mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapies, which primarily exert immunomodulatory and tissue-repair functions, and (2) T cell-based adoptive cell therapies (ACTs), which are designed to enhance antimicrobial immunity directly. Current evidence, while promising, predominantly remains in the early exploratory stages or lacks robust evidence-based support. To facilitate successful translation, future research should focus on standardizing cell products, conducting comprehensive safety assessments and implementing more rigorous clinical trials. This review critically assesses the therapeutic potential and translational challenges of cell therapy for TB.