title: Mesenchymal stem cells: isolation and therapeutics.
abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are progenitors of all connective tissue cells. In adults of multiple vertebrate species, MSCs have been isolated from bone marrow (BM) and other tissues, expanded in culture, and differentiated into several tissue-forming cells such as bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, tendon, liver, kidney, heart, and even brain cells. Recent advances in the practical end of application of MSCs toward regeneration of a human-shaped articular condyle of the synovial joint is one example of their functionality and versatility. The present review not only outlines several approaches relevant to the isolation and therapeutic use of MSCs, but also presents several examples of phenotypic and functional characterization of isolated MSCs and their progeny.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Adel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alhadlaq
authors.forename: Jeremy J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D002455:Cell Division; D002469:Cell Separation; D006801:Humans; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology*; D010641:Phenotype; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods