Abstract

Umbilical-cord-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation Ameliorated Severe Leg Ulcers in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Jinyun Chen, Dandan Wang, Xia Li, Linyu Geng, Huayong Zhang, Xuebing Feng and Lingyun Sun

Most lower extremity ulcers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) will become chronic non-healing ulcers without treatments. However, established therapies, including glucocorticoid and immunosuppressive agentsdidn’t show a good efficacy. Some studies have shown umbilical-cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) could accelerate the healing of cutaneous wounds in mice. But no clinical trials of UC-MSCs in cutaneous wound healing have been reported in human. Here we found that UC-MSCs transplantation promoted the healing of ulcers in a RA patient who underwent no improvement with established therapies. This case showed the prospective of UC-MSCs’ application in treating recurrent ulcers in RA patients.