Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells alleviated diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome by improving intestinal function

Sep 28, 2026

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) causes recurrent abdominal pain and irregular stools and persistsently reduces patients’ quality of life, with diarrheal IBS (IBS-D) representing a substantial proportion in China. This study tested whether human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) can alleviate IBS-D symptoms using an IBS-D rat model. Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated to control, model, and three hUC-MSC dose groups. hUC-MSCs improved body weight, fecal water content, inflammatory factor expression, intestinal barrier protein levels, and gut microbiota abundance and diversity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Aim

Methods

Results

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Key Words

| W | J | S | C | World Journal of
Stem Cells | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | Submit a Manuscript: [https://www.f6publishing.com](https://www.f6publishing.com) World J Stem Cells 2025 December 26; 17(12): 112100 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v17.i12.112100 ISSN 1948-0210 (online) ORIGINAL ARTICLE Basic Study Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells alleviated diarrheatype irritable bowel syndrome by improving intestinal function He-Ming Zhang, Yu Zhang, Guang-Jie Luo, An-Xing Zhang, Ruo-Chang Li, Hai-Bo Dong, Teng-Yun Dong, Peng-Cheng Yu, Ying An, Yan Li Specialty type: Cell and tissue engineering Provenance and peer review: Unsolicited article; Externally peer reviewed. Peer-review model: Single blind Peer-review report’s classification Scientific Quality: Grade C, Grade C, Grade C Novelty: Grade C, Grade C, Grade C Creativity or Innovation: Grade B, Grade C, Grade C Scientific Significance: Grade C, Grade C, Grade C P-Reviewer: Li SJ, PhD, Assistant Professor, China; Yu TY, MD, PhD, China Received: July 18, 2025 Revised: August 19, 2025 Accepted: November 6, 2025 Published online: December 26, 2025 Processing time: 160 Days and 20.6 Hours He-Ming Zhang, Yu Zhang, An-Xing Zhang, Ruo-Chang Li, Ying An, Yan Li, Department of Gastroenterology, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China Guang-Jie Luo, Hai-Bo Dong, Teng-Yun Dong, Hubei Engineering Research Center for Human Stem Cell Preparation, Application and Resource Preservation, Wuhan Optics Valley Vcanbio Pharma Co. Ltd., Wuhan 430000, Hubei Province, China Peng-Cheng Yu, Department of Production Technology, Yunnan Heze Southwest Bioscience Co. Ltd., Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China Co-first authors: He-Ming Zhang and Yu Zhang. Corresponding author: Yan Li, PhD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, No. 157 Jinbi Road, Xishan District, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, [China.](China. hepatocellular@sina.com)[ hepatocellular@sina.com](China. hepatocellular@sina.com) Abstract BACKGROUND Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a complex bowel disorder marked by recurrent abdominal pain and irregular stools. The condition is persistent and significantly affects the quality of life of patients. In China, 5.6%-11.5% of the population has IBS, with diarrheal IBS (IBS-D) comprising about 31.5% of the total. AIM To investigate how human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) can alleviate the symptoms with the help of an IBS-D rat model. METHODS Sixty specific pathogen-free-grade male Sprague-Dawley rats were acquired and divided into five groups: Control group, model group, and three hUC-MSC groups with different doses. The model group was induced using a combination of acetic acid and binding stress. We determined the body weight of the mice; analyzed their fecal characteristics, inflammatory factors, and intestinal tissue damage; and conducted intestinal flora analyses. WJSC [https://www.wjgnet.com](https://www.wjgnet.com) 1 December 26, 2025 Volume 17 Issue 12 Zhang HM et al. hUC-MSCs treat diarrhea-type IBS RESULTS The results showed that hUC-MSCs observably restored the dramatic weight loss in the rat model and also lowered the fecal water content to some extent. In addition, hUC-MSCs reduced the expression of inflammatory factors to alleviate the inflammatory response and increased the expression of intestinal barrier functional proteins to restore the colon injury by colonizing the colon tissue. In addition, hUC-MSCs were able to maintain the abundance and diversity of gut flora. CONCLUSION Thus, hUC-MSCs can reduce the expression of inflammatory factors, improve the expression of intestinal barrier functional proteins, and maintain the abundance and diversity

FAQs

What condition does the study address?

The study addresses diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D), a chronic functional digestive disorder associated with recurrent abdominal pain and irregular stools.

How were the hUC-MSCs evaluated?

hUC-MSCs were evaluated in an IBS-D rat model using sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats divided into control, model, and three treatment groups with different doses.

What outcomes did hUC-MSCs improve in the rat model?

hUC-MSCs restored weight loss, reduced fecal water content, lowered inflammatory factor expression, increased intestinal barrier functional protein expression, supported colon injury recovery, and maintained gut flora abundance and diversity.

Sep 28, 2026

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