Targeting Programmed Cell Death to Improve Stem Cell Therapy: Implications for Treating Diabetes and Diabetes-Related Diseases

Abstract

Stem cell therapies have shown promising therapeutic effects in restoring damaged tissue and promoting functional repair in a wide range of human diseases. Generations of insulin-producing cells and pancreatic progenitors from stem cells are potential therapeutic methods for treating diabetes and diabetes-related diseases. However, accumulated evidence has demonstrated that multiple types of programmed cell death (PCD) existed in stem cells post-transplantation and compromise their therapeutic efficiency, including apoptosis, autophagy, necroptosis, pyroptosis, and ferroptosis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms in PCD during stem cell transplantation and targeting cell death signaling pathways are vital to successful stem cell therapies. In this review, we highlight the research advances in PCD mechanisms that guide the development of multiple strategies to prevent the loss of stem cells and discuss promising implications for improving stem cell therapy in diabetes and diabetes-related diseases.