The ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)
to differentiate
Despite their increasing application in clinical trials, the
origin and role of MSCs in the development, repair and regeneration
of organs have remained unclear. Until recently, MSCs could only
be isolated in a process that requires culture in a laboratory;
these cells were being used for tissue engineering without understanding
their native location and function. MSCs isolated in this indirect
way have been used in clinical trials and remain the reference standard
cellular substrate for musculoskeletal engineering. The therapeutic
use of autologous MSCs is currently limited by the need for
In this annotation we provide an update on the recent developments in the understanding of the identity of MSCs within tissues and outline how this may affect their use in orthopaedic surgery in the future.
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