Exploring Pericyte and Cardiac Stem Cell Secretome Unveils New Tactics for Drug Discovery

The document from 2017 reviews the potential of the secretome—bioactive molecules secreted by stem cells such as pericytes and cardiac stem cells (CSCs)—for use in cardiovascular regenerative medicine, particularly for treating ischemic diseases like coronary heart disease (CHD). It highlights the limitations of current CHD treatments and suggests that the paracrine effects of stem cell therapies, which have shown modest improvements in heart function, may be due to these secreted factors rather than the direct differentiation of transplanted cells. The review discusses the therapeutic effects of specific growth factors and cytokines, the use of conditioned medium (CM) as a more practical alternative to stem cells, and the challenges in standardizing and commercializing these therapies. It also notes the promising preclinical results in animal models and the potential for commercial use in cosmetics, while emphasizing the need for more stringent regulation for therapeutic applications. The document concludes that the balance of cooperative and competitive interactions within the secretome is crucial for therapeutic outcomes and that future cardiovascular drug discovery may focus on creating new drugs based on the knowledge of stem cell paracrine function.