%0 Journal Article
%T Mesenchymal stem cells as all-round supporters in a normal and neoplastic microenvironment
%A Ralf Hass
%A Anna Otte
%J Cell Communication and Signaling
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1478-811x-10-26
%X Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can be identified in and isolated from nearly all kinds of human tissues. MSC are often synonymously termed stromal cells while other reports distinguish MSC as a precursor of stromal cells. As firstly described, bone marrow-derived human MSC (BM-hMSC) still represent the most frequently investigated hMSC population to compare their properties to those of other tissue-originating hMSC populations [1]. Among these are hMSC from adipose tissue [2], peripheral blood [3], heart [4], and lung [5] but more recently, special attention was also given to hMSC obtained from a variety of different neonatal tissues. These post-natal tissues represent a useful ethically non-controversial alternative providing certain advantages as a consistent and enriched MSC source which is easily accessible. These tissues include MSC from the amniotic fluid [6], amniotic membrane [7-9], chorionic membrane [10], chorionic villi [11], decidua [10], whole placenta [12,13], cord blood [14], Wharton's jelly [15] and whole umbilical cord (UC-MSC) [16].The hMSC originating from different human tissues or organs are designated as stem/stromal or stem-like cells since they share functional properties such as continuous cell cycle progression and plasticity by the capability to differentiate at least along the mesodermal lineage. However, several tissue-originating MSC display significant differences in their proliferative capacities. According to the tissue-specific microenvironment of the diverse MSC populations, UC-MSC exhibit a higher proliferation potential than BM-MSC [17-19]. Thus, the mean doubling time of the UC-MSC revealed about 24£¿h and remained almost constant for up to 10 cell passages. In contrast, the population doubling time of BM-MSC reached approximately 40£¿h and considerably increased already after 6 cell passages [20]. Likewise, adipose tissue-derived MSC also demonstrated an elevated growth rate as compared to BM-MSC [21]. Morphological evaluations rev
%K Mesenchymal stem cells
%K Tumor cells
%K Microenvironment
%U http://www.biosignaling.com/content/10/1/26