Haema 2013; 4(3):283-291
by Aristea K. Batsali, Helen A. Papadaki, Charalampos Pontikoglou
Department of Haematology & Haematopoiesis Research Lab, University of Crete School of Medicine Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Abstract
Bone-marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent, self-renewing precursor cells that can differentiate into bone, fat, cartilage. The ease by which MSCs can be isolated from the bone marrow and expanded in vitro as well as their multipotency and their immunomodulatory properties have led to the rapid development of clinical investigations exploring their therapeutic potential. We critically review herein the in vitro features of bone marrow-derived μSCs and we discuss their potential therapeutic applications in representative clinical settings and in the context of hematopoetic stem cell transplantation.