Title:Epigenetic Modulation: A Promising Avenue to Advance Hematopoietic Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Severe Autoimmune Disorders
Volume: 1
Issue: 2
Author(s): Hsin-hao Timothy Hsiao
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Epigenetics, autoimmune, hematopoietic stem cell, therapy, transplantation.
Abstract: Severe autoimmune disorders, such as certain serious forms of multiple sclerosis,
rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus, lead to poor prognosis for patients and can be
fatal. Traditional immunosuppression therapies are rarely curative but only temporarily relieve patients
from the flares. Arising “epigenetic” medications may enhance specificity but limitations still exist for
their applications to severe autoimmune disorders due to the medications targeting differentiated
immune cells. Hematopoietic stem cell-based therapy represents a different therapeutic strategy, which
aims to reconstitute the functionality of the whole immune system. Such a re-constitutive approach has
demonstrated long-lasting clinical benefits. Currently, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation remains a challenging and
risky procedure, but recent scientific discoveries indicate that targeting epigenetics in hematopoietic stem cells bears
promise to improve both the success rate and safety profile of hematopoietic stem cell-based therapy for treating severe
autoimmune disorders.
