Tolar lab shows in mouse studies that mesenchymal stromal cells could treat diseases involving chronic tissue injury.

Clinical studies have shown that mesenchymal stromal cells found in bone marrow can effectively reduce blistering in patients suffering from the rare, incurable skin disease, recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) by modulating the immune response to skin injury.  The Tolar group has now demonstrated in mouse studies that mesenchymal stromal cells isolated from skin have superior abilities to home to the skin and engraft in wounds.  Further studies about the mechanisms by which these cells modulate the immune system could have far-reaching implications for treatments of this and other diseases involving chronic tissue injury.  Read the paper.