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Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells - an update

Edited by: Dr Richard Schäfer and Dr Selim Kuci

A cross-journal collection published in Stem Cell Research & TherapyBMC BiologyBMC Developmental Biology and BMC Medicine.

Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (MSCs) hold great promise as a cell-based therapy in the treatment of immune disorders and in regenerative medicine. Despite decades of extensive research in elucidating the role of MSCs in maintenance of the hematopoietic niche and in deciphering MSCs heterogeneity, it is the latter that has been posing a perpetual challenge for our understanding of MSC biology and translation to the clinic. In addition, MSCs subpopulations, which may account for MSC heterogeneity, remain poorly characterized at morphological and functional level. In particular, the implications for development of MSC therapies as well as the mechanisms through which MSCs interact with the diseased organism remain unclear.

In this cross-journal series, we present a collection of state-of-the-art articles on the basic biology of MSCs as well as translational and clinical aspects. It is the major goal of this article collection to give an update on these relevant topics, which may trigger future studies in order to broaden the current knowledge and achieve significant progress in the field. Selected research articles will be included in addition to invited reviews and comment.

This series of articles has not been sponsored. All articles have undergone each journal’s standard peer review process overseen by the journal Editors. The journal Editors declare no competing interests.

  1. 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. ...

    Authors: Jeffrey L. Spees, Ryang Hwa Lee and Carl A. Gregory
    Citation: Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2016 7:125
  2. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), also called mesenchymal stromal cells, have been of great interest in regenerative medicine applications because of not only their differentiation potential but also their...

    Authors: Krishna M. Panchalingam, Sunghoon Jung, Lawrence Rosenberg and Leo A. Behie
    Citation: Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2015 6:225
  3. Because of their ease of isolation and relative abundance, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) are a particularly attractive autologous cell source for various therapeutic purposes. ASCs retain a hig...

    Authors: Morikuni Tobita, Satoshi Tajima and Hiroshi Mizuno
    Citation: Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2015 6:215
  4. Regenerative medicine relying on cell and gene therapies is one of the most promising approaches to repair tissues. Multipotent mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC), a population of progenitors committing into...

    Authors: Naomi D’souza, Filippo Rossignoli, Giulia Golinelli, Giulia Grisendi, Carlotta Spano, Olivia Candini, Satoru Osturu, Fabio Catani, Paolo Paolucci, Edwin M. Horwitz and Massimo Dominici
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:186