< At-a-Glance Summaries

Stem Cells as Rescue Therapy for Hard-to-Treat Psoriasis

Date of Publication:

September 2025

Psoriasis is a common, lifelong condition that affects more than 60 million people worldwide. It happens when an overactive immune system causes patches of red, scaly and itchy skin, and it can significantly impair quality of life.

Modern biologic treatments have transformed psoriasis care, but they do not work for everyone. For some people, these medicines stop working over time, leaving very few alternatives for effective long-term psoriasis management.

A new type of treatment called cell therapy may offer longer-term relief. It uses special stem cells known as mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), which can help calm the immune system and reduce inflammation. These cells can be grown in the laboratory from donated tissues such as fat, bone marrow, or umbilical cord. Almost 2,000 clinical trials worldwide are testing MSCs as treatment for conditions including eczema, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Early results suggest MSCs can reduce inflammation and help rebalance the immune system.

In this study, researchers used MSCs from donated umbilical cords to treat 3 adults with severe psoriasis that had not responded to biologic medicines. MSC therapy was well tolerated, with no serious side-effects, and improved psoriasis by up to 87%; these benefits lasted for up to 6 months.

Encouragingly, MSC treatment appeared to also restore immune balance, allowing biologic therapies that had previously stopped working to regain effectiveness. After restarting their biologics, 2 of 3 people achieved nearly clear skin lasting over 2 years.

Researchers found that in the immune systems of the people who received this therapy, MSCs increased the number of cells that reduce inflammation and decreased those that drive it. This suggests that MSCs may help people with difficult-to-treat psoriasis by helping to “reset” the immune system.

While these early results are very promising, larger clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings. If successful, MSC therapy could become a new treatment option for people whose psoriasis no longer responds to current treatments. Hopefully in the future using MSCs earlier in the course of psoriasis could help to better calm the immune system, potentially offering long-term improvement.

The full paper is available online at https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1656724

Written by Shane Solanky