Microenvironment cues on fate determination of umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract

The growing trend of longer life expectancy and the rising occurrence of age-related newlinedegenerative disorders and tissue damage has necessitated research in the field of tissue newlineengineering. Although transplantation of tissue-engineered grafts is an efficient technique and has newlinebeen used in many treatments, there are still very few therapeutic applications for it. Research newlineindicates that stem cells (SC) such as mesenchymal, embryonic, and induced pluripotent types may newlineaccelerate tissue regeneration through several processes. Restricted survival and differentiation newlinepotential of the transplanted cells limits the therapeutic applicability of SC treatment, even though newlineit offers a novel paradigm in tissue regeneration. To overcome these constraints, tissue engineering newlinetechnology has been employed to maintain the potential of SC. Nowadays, the research focuses on newlinethe modulation of SC microenvironment for long-term and efficient cell-based therapy. The three newlinedimensional structure and a variety of signaling molecules present in the stroma where the SC newlinereside are collectively referred to as the quotstem cell microenvironment,quot or niche and they can newlinecontrol the fate (proliferation/differentiation) of the SC. Through cell-cell signaling, cell newlineextracellular matrix (ECM) interaction, and cytokine-cell interactions, the SC microenvironment newlinecan be altered. Biophysical factors like stiffness, pore size, porosity, topography, and stress are newlinealso frequently regarded as essential for the regulation of the niche. newlineMesenchymal stem cells (MSC) play a crucial role in maintaining tissue homeostasis, newlinetissue repair, wound healing and are approved for cellular therapies. Human umbilical cord newlinederived mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSC) are multipotent cells capable of differentiating into newlinedifferent cellular lineages, both in vitro and in vivo, when stimulated under appropriate conditions. newlineOne of the major limitations of MSC division is cellular aging or senescence which is a major newlinechallenge in the area of regenerative medicine.