Premium
Why are MSCs therapeutic? New data: new insight
Author(s) -
Caplan AI
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/path.2469
Subject(s) - mesenchymal stem cell , bone marrow , progenitor cell , angiogenesis , stromal cell , medicine , immunology , pathology , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , cancer research , biology
Adult marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are able to differentiate into bone, cartilage, muscle, marrow stroma, tendon–ligament, fat and other connective tissues. The questions can be asked, what do MSCs do naturally and where is the MSC niche? New insight and clinical experience suggest that MSCs are naturally found as perivascular cells, summarily referred to as pericytes, which are released at sites of injury, where they secrete large quantities of bioactive factors that are both immunomodulatory and trophic. The trophic activity inhibits ischaemia‐caused apoptosis and scarring while stimulating angiogenesis and the mitosis of tissue intrinsic progenitor cells. The immunomodulation inhibits lymphocyte surveillance of the injured tissue, thus preventing autoimmunity, and allows allogeneic MSCs to be used in a variety of clinical situations. Thus, a new, enlightened era of experimentation and clinical trials has been initiated with xenogenic and allogeneic MSCs. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.