Current methods of treating gingivostomatitis in cats, with insight into mesenchymal stem cell therapy

Abstract

Gingivostomatitis is a common finding in veterinary feline patients. Many conditions and infectious agents have been suggested to play a part in pathogenesis of feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS), including pathogens and noninfectious factors. The most common approaches to treating gingivostomatitis are pharmacotherapy and surgical dental extraction. However, despite the application of these methods, treatment progress is often unsatisfactory: many cats show little or no improvement and require further treatment. Data from the literature indicate a high therapeutic efficacy of tooth extraction combined with mesenchymal stem cell application. This method can significantly improve the effectiveness of treatment and the patient's prognosis compared to tooth extraction alone, which is a method of choice in the case of gingivostomatitis. Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent progenitor cells that divide, differentiate, and eventually trigger the genesis of different tissues. Furthermore, they exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and antimicrobial effects and can modulate neoangiogenesis. These and other properties of stem cells, whose biology has been studied and described in detail, explain their beneficial effects in FCGS treatment. For veterinary surgeons considering this method, mesenchymal stem cell sources include bone marrow and adipose tissue. There are many established stem cell isolation protocols, which are summarized in this publication.