Publication Name	World Journal of Stem Cells
Manuscript ID	117946
Country	United States

Category	Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Manuscript Type	Editorial
Article Title	Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in irritable bowel syndrome: Mechanistic and translational insights
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Eric Michael Kunz, Joseph Patrick Carroll, Russell James Schoeller III and Brandon Lucke-Wold
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Eric Michael Kunz, Doctorate Student, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, United States. ekunz005@med.fiu.edu
Key Words	Irritable bowel syndrome; Mesenchymal stem cells; Umbilical cord; Intestinal mucosa; Diarrhea; Microbiota; Translational medical research; Cell- and tissue-based research
Core Tip	Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome is increasingly linked to immune activation, intestinal barrier dysfunction, and gut microbiota imbalance rather than isolated motility disturbances. In a recent rat model, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells reduced inflammatory cytokines, restored tight junction protein expression, and stabilized microbial diversity. This editorial situates these findings within current concepts of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome pathophysiology, explores how human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells might function as a multi-target biological therapy, and outlines key limitations, regulatory hurdles, and priorities for early-phase clinical trials needed to translate this strategy into patient care.
Citation	Kunz EM, Carroll JP, Schoeller III RJ, Lucke-Wold B. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in irritable bowel syndrome: Mechanistic and translational insights. World J Stem Cells 2026; In press

Received	2025-12-23 11:09
Peer-Review Started	2025-12-23 11:09
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2025-12-31 07:56
Return for Revision	2025-12-31 07:56
Revised	2026-01-13 03:01
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-02-14 02:35
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-02-14 09:05
Articles in Press	2026-02-14 09:05
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	1948-0210 (online)
Open Access	This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Copyright	© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
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