Conventional and Alternative Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapies for the Treatment of Diabetes

Diabetes is a public health problem affecting millions of people around the world. Despite the availability of many antidiabetic medications, the adequate level of control of the disease and management of diabetic patients remain a huge challenge. Because of the limitations of current therapies and the tremendous potential of non-conventional treatments such as stem cell therapy, herein, we review the applications of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in treating diabetes. Owing to their unique regenerative and immunomodulatory properties, MSCs have been widely utilized in numerous applications both in animal models and human clinical trials for the treatment of diabetes. This review will summarize the latest experimental and clinical studies that have provided evidence of the beneficial role of MSCs in diabetes treatment.