[1][2][3][4] The primary function of MSCs is to respond to injury and infection by secreting and recruiting a range of biological factors, as well as modulating inflammatory processes to facilitate tissue repair and regeneration.
The remainder of the cell body contains a small amount of Golgi apparatus, rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and polyribosomes.
A cell can be classified as an MSC if it shows plastic adherent properties under normal culture conditions and has a fibroblast-like morphology.
The study in Science, "Multilineage Potential of Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells," describes how MSCs can undergo osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation ex vivo.
However, MSCs are found in much higher concentration in the Wharton's jelly compared to cord blood, which is a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells.
They eventually form enamel, dentin, blood vessels, dental pulp, and nervous tissues.
Recent work suggests that β-catenin, via regulation of EZH2, is a central molecule in maintaining the "stemness" of MSCs.
[citation needed] MSCs have an effect on innate and specific immune cells, and research has shown an ability to suppress tumor growth.
[27] MSCs produce many immunomodulatory molecules including prostaglandin E2 (PGE2),[28] nitric oxide,[29] indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and other surface markers such as FasL,[30] PD-L1 and PD-L2.
[41][44] MSCs produce several antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), including human cathelicidin LL-37,[45] β-defensins,[46] lipocalin 2[47] and hepcidin.
[54][55] The majority of modern culture techniques still take a colony-forming unit-fibroblasts (CFU-F) approach, where raw unpurified bone marrow or ficoll-purified bone marrow mononuclear cells are plated directly into cell culture plates or flasks.
[56] Researchers have successfully isolated and expanded MSCs from marrow samples, demonstrating their ability to differentiate into specific cell lineages under controlled laboratory conditions.
Environmental factors like nutrients, spatial organization, and signaling molecules influence MSC behavior and differentiation.
[60] The supplementation of basal media with fetal bovine serum or human platelet lysate is common in MSC culture.
[66] An ex vivo assay for examining the clonogenic potential of multipotent marrow cells was later reported in the 1970s by Friedenstein and colleagues.
Culturing marrow stromal cells in the presence of osteogenic stimuli such as ascorbic acid, inorganic phosphate and dexamethasone could promote their differentiation into osteoblasts.
[72] The term "mesenchymal stem cells" and what constitutes the most scientifically correct meaning for the MSC initialism, has been debated for years.