title: Mesenchymal stem cells: Identification, phenotypic characterization, biological properties and potential for regenerative medicine through biomaterial micro-engineering of their niche.
abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells. Although they were originally identified in bone marrow and described as 'marrow stromal cells', they have since been identified in many other anatomical locations in the body. MSCs can be isolated from bone marrow, adipose tissue, umbilical cord and other tissues but the richest tissue source of MSCs is fat. Since they are adherent to plastic, they may be expanded in vitro. MSCs have a distinct morphology and express a specific set of CD (cluster of differentiation) molecules. The phenotypic pattern for the identification of MSCs cells requires expression of CD73, CD90, and CD105 and lack of CD34, CD45, and HLA-DR antigens. Under appropriate micro-environmental conditions MSCs can proliferate and give rise to other cell types. Therefore, they are ideally suited for the treatment of systemic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. They have also been implicated as key players in regenerating injured tissue following injury and trauma. MSC populations isolated from adipose tissue may also contain regulatory T (Treg) cells, which have the capacity for modulating the immune system. The immunoregulatory and regenerative properties of MSCs make them ideal for use as therapeutic agents in vivo. In this paper we review the literature on the identification, phenotypic characterization and biological properties of MSCs and discuss their potential for applications in cell therapy and regenerative medicine. We also discuss strategies for biomaterial micro-engineering of the stem cell niche.
authors.affiliation: Biotalentum Ltd., Gödöllö 2100, Hungary. Electronic address: julianna.kobolak@biotalentum.hu.
authors.forename: Julianna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kobolak
authors.affiliation: Biotalentum Ltd., Gödöllö 2100, Hungary; Szent István University, Gödöllö 2100, Hungary; Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CL, The Netherlands; Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CL, The Netherlands. Electronic address: andras.dinnyes@biotalentum.hu.
authors.forename: Andras
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dinnyes
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanotechnology, King AbdulAziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: amemic@kau.edu.sa.
authors.forename: Adnan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Memic
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, United States; WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan. Electronic address: akhademhosseini@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khademhosseini
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, United Kingdom; Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis, Arthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Medical Research Council and Arthritis Research UK Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom; Center of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research (CEGMR), King Fahd Medical Research Center (KFMRC), Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King AbdulAziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: a.mobasheri@surrey.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mobasheri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D012038:Regeneration; D044968:Regenerative Medicine; D055153:Stem Cell Niche; D023822:Tissue Engineering
keywords: Biomaterials; CD markers; Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC); Micro-engineering; Regenerative medicine; Stem cell niche