Saturday, December 29, 2007

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC2)

Tissues originating in the mesoderm include blood cells, blood vessels, heart, bone, cartilage, fat, skeletal muscle, tendon, and tissue mesenchyme. Blood cells in bone marrow are the elements that create the concept of stem cells, but bone marrow includes another cell group, i.e., mesenchymal stem cells (MSC2), which possess adherent properties. These cells have the ability to differentiate into a variety of cells and may have an organ maintenance mechanism that serves as back-up. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC2) are a useful source of cells for transplantation for several reasons: they have the ability to proliferate and differentiate into mesodermal tissues and they entail no ethical or immunological problems. MSC2 have been studied extensively over the past three decades and numerous independent research groups have successfully isolated them from a variety of sources, most commonly from bone marrow 19, 22, 52-55). Yet, in addition to bone marrow, almost all human tissues or organs can be a source of mesenchymal stem cells, since they all have stroma or mesenchyme as well as parenchyma or epithelium.



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