Sources of mesenchymal stem cells and its potential

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells, because of their ability to differentiate along variable cell lineages and renew themselves is a topic of interest in orthopedics for their potential role in avascular necrosis of femoral head, osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc disease, ligamentous and meniscal injuries, inducing growth in osteogenesis imperfecta and gene therapy. They also possess immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory properties. Mesenchymal stem cells can be procured from different tissue sources, such as umbilical cord, synovial tissue, breast milk, menstrual blood, adipose tissue, bone marrow, dentine pulp etc. In this review, we have attempted to make a study of the recent advances in emerging new sources of mesenchymal stem cells and their therapeutic potentials.