Abstract
The past decade has seen an explosion of research directed toward better understanding of the mechanisms of mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC) function during rescue and repair of injured organs and tissues. In addition to delineating cell–cell signaling and molecular controls for MSC differentiation, the field has made particular progress in defining several other mechanisms through which administered MSCs can promote tissue rescue/repair. These include: 1) paracrine activity that involves secretion of proteins/peptides and hormones; 2) transfer of mitochondria by way of tunneling nanotubes or microvesicles; and 3) transfer of exosomes or microvesicles containing RNA and other molecules. Improved understanding of MSC function holds great promise for the application of cell therapy and also for the development of powerful cell-derived therapeutics for regenerative medicine. Focusing on these three mechanisms, we discuss MSC-mediated effects on immune cell responses, cell survival, and fibrosis and review recent progress with MSC-based or MSC-derived therapeutics.
Highlights
Mesenchymal stem cells, referred to as multipotent stromal cells or mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), have been the subject of intense scientific investigation since their initial discovery by Alexander Friedenstein in the late 1960s [1,2,3,4,5]
Friedenstein and colleagues demonstrated that MSCs, likely originating from the mesoderm, had the capacity to differentiate into a variety of mesenchymal tissue lineages such as osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes
These observations sparked a substantial degree of interest in the potential application of MSCs for the repair of serious
Summary
Mesenchymal stem cells, referred to as multipotent stromal cells or mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), have been the subject of intense scientific investigation since their initial discovery by Alexander Friedenstein in the late 1960s [1,2,3,4,5]. In their early studies, Friedenstein and colleagues demonstrated that MSCs, likely originating from the mesoderm, had the capacity to differentiate into a variety of mesenchymal tissue lineages such as osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes.
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