Abstract:

Till now, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been officially approved in a series of clinical trials to treat the patients with graft-versus-host disease, Crhon’s disease, liver fibrosis and osteoarticular injuries. However, before their wide use in clinical settings, the basic problematic issues about MSCs should be clarified. These key points, which will be here reviewed based on the recent advances on MSCs during the past several years, include the essences of MSCs inherently existing in vivo, the changes of their biological features after in vitro expansion, in vivo distribution after transplantation, the underlying mechanisms of MSCs therapy and its safety in clinical application.