Edited by: Dr Richard Schäfer and Dr Selim Kuci
A cross-journal collection published in Stem Cell Research & Therapy, BMC Biology, BMC 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.