Stem cell therapy is an exciting field being studied for its potential in treating skin diseases like psoriasis. Doctors and researchers are still learning how stem cells may be used to clear skin in people who don’t respond well to traditional therapies.

This experimental treatment comes up in conversations on MyPsoriasisTeam. “Has anyone heard of getting plasma injections or stem cells injected for joints, cartilage tears, or skin eruptions?” asked one member. “I’ve heard wonderful things about it.”

In this article, we’ll discuss what stem cells are and how they may eventually be used to treat psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Currently, no stem cell therapies are approved for psoriasis, and more research is needed to determine whether they’re a safe and effective option.

Psoriasis and Current Treatments

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease caused when an overactive immune system leads to excess inflammation. Specifically, immune cells known as T cells release inflammatory proteins (cytokines) in the skin. The body reacts by producing new skin cells faster than usual, causing lesions and plaques to form.

Many psoriasis treatment options, including biologic therapies and corticosteroids, target immune cells and inflammation. Phototherapy or light therapy can also be used to slow skin cell growth.

However, some people have a minimal response or are entirely resistant to these therapies, making it difficult to control their psoriasis. Doctors and researchers are looking at stem cell therapy to treat these individuals and improve their quality of life. To understand how stem cell therapy works, it’s important to first learn what stem cells are.

What Are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are specialized cells that have the potential to develop into many cell types in your body. Multipotent stem cells are able to become several (but not all) types. The process of stem cells developing into specific types of cells is known as differentiation.

Sources of Stem Cells

The largest supply of stem cells is found in your bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside your bones. These stem cells are a special multipotent type known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), also called mesenchymal stromal cells. Researchers have found that MSCs are able to develop into various fat, muscle, and bone cells.

Your bone marrow also contains hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which have the ability to turn into different types of blood cells — platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. HSCs are used in stem cell transplants to treat people with blood cancers.

The umbilical cord that connects a baby to the mother’s placenta is also a rich source of stem cells. Human umbilical cord blood can be collected from both the umbilical cord and the placenta during delivery, after the baby is born, and doesn’t harm the baby in any way. Cord blood can be used to treat nearly 80 blood, immune, and metabolic disorders.

Types of Stem Cell Transplants

The two types of stem cell transplants differ based on where the stem cells come from. You may receive either an allogeneic or an autologous stem cell transplant.

Allogeneic Transplants Come From a Donor

An allogeneic stem cell transplant uses stem cells that come from a healthy donor, usually a sibling or another relative. This is because your immune system can recognize stem cells from an unrelated donor as foreign and reject them before they can work. Allogeneic stem cell transplants are commonly used to treat blood cancers and disorders, and they carry some risks. One potentially serious risk is the development of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), the result of new immune cells from the transplant attacking your body’s healthy tissues.

If you don’t have an eligible sibling, it may be hard to find a good genetic match.

Autologous Transplants Use Your Own Cells

Autologous stem cell transplants use stem cells collected from your bone marrow or blood. Since this transplant uses your own cells, there is little to no risk of rejection or GVHD. However, it’s still possible that the transplant may not work.

A Difficult First Step

Before a stem cell transplant is performed, a person is treated with immunosuppressive medications (typically, chemotherapy drugs) to destroy the existing stem cells in the bone marrow. Essentially, this step kills off your immune system to make room for the new stem cells. The side effects and risks involved in this process are outside the scope of this article, but they’re severe enough that not everyone is considered a good candidate for transplant, even when treating cancer.

The Role of Stem Cells in Psoriasis

In recent years, researchers have started investigating stem cells’ potential role in psoriasis development. A 2020 study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that skin buildup and thickening in psoriasis may be due to abnormal stem cells.

Researchers looked at how genes are controlled in specific skin stem cells known as keratinocyte stem cells. They reported that these stem cells from people with psoriasis were missing an important marker that controls genes involved in cell growth and division — but the marker was found in other conditions that cause skin thickening and calluses. This means that the marker is likely involved in psoriasis rather than general skin thickening.

The researchers also noted that using vitamin C may restore the marker to normal levels. By restoring the marker, researchers may be able to slow skin cell overproduction and treat psoriasis.

Although these findings are promising, they were performed mainly on human keratinocyte stem cells in laboratory dishes and in a mouse model of psoriasis. More studies are needed to confirm the role stem cells play in psoriasis in humans.

Stem Cell Therapy for Treating Psoriasis

Doctors and researchers have also started looking into stem cell therapy for treating psoriasis. There’s interest in using MSCs and HSCs to help control inflammation and regulate the immune system.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Psoriasis

MSCs are known to have special properties that allow them to control T cells and the cytokines they release. This means that MSCs may have the potential to dampen inflammation in the skin to treat psoriasis.

Researchers have used mouse models to learn more about MSCs for treating psoriasis. Several studies found that injecting MSCs either underneath the skin or into a vein prevented the development of psoriasis in mice. The researchers also saw improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores, which measure how well psoriasis treatments clear skin.

Small case reports of people with psoriasis suggested that treatment with MSCs from fat tissue or cord blood improved their skin symptoms. Some reports showed that injection with MSCs completely cleared the skin for several years. Others found that treatment improved both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis symptoms.

Although these results are exciting, the case reports involved only a handful of people. Larger clinical trials are needed to confirm that these treatments are safe and effective.

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants and Psoriasis

Hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCTs) haven’t yet been studied specifically for treating psoriasis. Instead, dozens of case reports have focused on people with psoriasis who received an allogeneic HSCT to treat blood cancer.

One large 2021 review article noted that people with moderate to severe psoriasis experienced some amount of skin clearance after receiving an HSCT. Some had completely clear skin for several years, whereas others eventually saw their psoriasis come back, typically within a year. Other reports suggested that psoriatic arthritis symptoms like joint pain and swelling may improve after HSCTs.

The chemotherapy given before a stem cell transplant destroys diseased cells, so it may eliminate the T cells responsible for overactivation that leads to inflammation in the skin.

As with MSC therapy, HSCT needs to be further studied in large clinical studies. While most of the case reports reported no side effects or only mild GVHD, it’s important to ensure that the therapy is safe and effective in people with psoriasis.

Risks are currently unknown. But in one isolated case, a man being treated for cancer received an HSCT using stem cells from his twin, who had severe psoriasis. Within days, the recipient also developed severe psoriasis and went on to develop psoriatic arthritis.

Stem Cell Therapy Clinical Trials and Clinics

Currently, no clinical trials in the United States are studying stem cell therapy for psoriasis. If you’re interested in learning more about the potential of stem cell therapy, talk to your doctor or dermatologist.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t approved any stem cell therapies for psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. You may find a stem cell clinic offering services to treat your psoriasis, but it’s important to exercise caution and keep your health and safety in mind.

Talk With Others Who Understand

MyPsoriasisTeam is the social network for people with psoriasis and their loved ones. On MyPsoriasisTeam, more than 117,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with psoriasis.

Are you interested in trying stem cell therapy to treat your psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.