Psoriasis is a dermatologic disease of immune origins with no definitive cure. We report the Makati Medical Center experience of utilizing autologous mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for one patient with psoriasis vulgaris (PV) and another with psoriatic arthritis (PA). Patients were educated and gave informed consent, according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The protocol was approved by the Cellular Transplantation Ethics Committee of the Makati Medical Center. Autologous MSCs were cultured from lipoaspirate and expanded in a clean room class 100 facility (Cellular Therapeutics Center, Makati Medical Center). MSCs were infused intravenously at a dose of 0.5-3.1 million cells/kg after complying with quality control parameters. Psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) evaluations were conducted by third-party dermatologists. The PA patient, who was previously unresponsive to standard treatment modalities, demonstrated a decrease in PASI (from 21.6 to 9.0, mild state after two infusions). No improvements were noted in joint pain until further treatment with etanercept and infliximab. The PV patient, who was previously dependent on methotrexate, showed a decrease in PASI from 24.0 to 8.3 after three infusions; this clinical improvement was sustained for 292 days (9.7 months) without methotrexate. The PV patient illustrated a marginal reduction in serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), while significant (3.5- to 5-fold) decreases in reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity were noted. The ROS levels correlated with the clinical improvement of the PV patient. No serious adverse events were noted for either patient as a result of MSC infusions. This report demonstrates safe and tolerable transplantation of autologous MSCs for the treatment of psoriasis and warrants large clinical studies to investigate the long-term safety and efficacy of this approach.
Keywords: Arthritis; Autoimmune; Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs); Psoriasis; Reactive oxygen species (ROS).