Recent developments in companion animal stem cell therapies

In December 2025, a team of scientists from Osaka Metropolitan University and the University of California, Davis, published a study highlighting the use of a new substrate for the growth of canine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

This substrate, canine vitronectin, is a species-matched protein that can be expressed in Escherichia coli. This development will significantly improve the ease of working with iPSCs, opening up new avenues in stem cell research and therapies.

Most veterinarians are familiar with mesenchymal stem cells, which are isolated from bone marrow or adipose tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells have “limited differentiation capacity, primarily toward mesodermal lineages, including bone, cartilage, and fat,” said Shingo Hatoya, DVM, PhD, of Osaka Metropolitan University, one of the study’s authors. . While they can offer benefits, their applications are limited.

The power of pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells, in contrast, have the potential to revolutionize stem cell biology. They are generated from somatic cells, and they are programmed to achieve a pluripotent state.

“This means they have the potential to differentiate into almost any cell type in the body,” said Hatoya. While work on iPSCs is still largely in the research stage, iPSCs offer much broader opportunities for applications in regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and drug discovery.

“For example,” said Hatoya, “iPSC-derived red blood cells could be used to produce transfusion products, and pancreatic β cells generated from iPSCs may be used to treat diabetes.” Additionally, iPSCs have a variety of research applications. For example, “iPSCs can be used to generate organoids—miniature organ-like structures that enable researchers to evaluate drug efficacy and toxicity more accurately,” Hatoya continued. The benefits of iPSCs could be far-reaching in companion animal veterinary medicine.

Understanding limitations and expectations

A primary limitation of iPSCs is the difficulty associated with culturing these stem cells.

They are often cultured on mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs); however, xenogeneic proteins can trigger an immune reaction when stem cells are administered to a patient.

In this study, though, researchers cultured canine iPSCs on vitronectin, a canine protein. This species-matched matrix minimizes the risk of undesirable immune responses, while also offering a scalable and cost-effective method for canine iPSC production. According to Hatoya, “Establishing a species-specific, reproducible culture substrate, such as canine vitronectin, may therefore help make canine iPSC research more accessible to a broader range of researchers.”

In addition to their work culturing canine iPSCs, Hatoya and his colleagues have also conducted research on feline iPSCs.

“Developing species-specific, reproducible culture systems, as described in our recent study is an important step toward making canine iPSC technology more accessible to researchers,” Hatoya said. As iPSCs become more accessible, new advances in stem cell therapies and research can be expected.

Practical applications of stem cell therapies

While iPSCs are expected to offer benefits in the future, research on mesenchymal stem cells is still ongoing. Current research points to a number of potential developments involving stem cell therapies, with a variety of predicted benefits for companion animal patients.

Gallant is currently seeking FDA approval for a mesenchymal stem cell therapy for feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS). This therapy could be commercially available as soon as summer of 2026. Investigational stem cells are collected from a feline donor during a routine spay, and they are used to create a ready-to-use, allogeneic stem cell product.

In a 2025 clinical field study involving 46 cats with refractory FCGS after partial- or full-mouth extractions, study cats were treated with intravenous, allogeneic uterine-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Treated cats showed clinically significant improvements in quality of life within two weeks of treatment, and 76% of cats were considered a treatment success at Day 90 based on owner-reported assessments of overall response.

The future of stem cell therapies

While stem cell therapy for FCGS may be available in the near future, researchers are also investigating other companion animal stem cell therapies.

Autologous skeletal muscle progenitor cells have been studied for their use in managing canine urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI), with promising results. Additionally, a 2026 review of 19 studies assessing the use of mesenchymal stem cell therapies for chronic kidney disease (CKD) found that these therapies were mostly safe, resulting in variable improvements in quality of life, survival, and renal function in dogs and cats.

While new stem cell therapies for USMI and CKD are unlikely in the near future, these studies represent ongoing research that may result in future novel treatments.

Stem cell therapies have progressed significantly since their first introduction in the early 2000s. As new applications for mesenchymal stem cells are discovered and iPSCs become more feasible for use in veterinary medicine, researchers and clinical practitioners will continue to collaborate to create patient-centered stem cell therapies that improve the lives of companion animals.

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