Bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells: from basic biology to applications in bone tissue engineering and bone regeneration

Bone marrow provides a rich source of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), which have the remarkable capacity for cell and tissue regeneration. Since their initial discovery in the guinea pig almost 50 years ago, bone-marrow-derived MSCs have been extensively studied in animals and humans. Several subpopulations have been characterized with the aim to isolate, enrich, and identify the cells with stem-cell properties and immunomodulatory actions, which are important for regenerative medicine. In this chapter, we review the properties of bone-marrow-derived MSCs with a focus on the preclinical setting and discuss their applications for bone tissue engineering and bone regeneration

Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Calcium Phosphate Bioceramics: Implications in Periodontal Bone Regeneration

In orthopedic medicine, a feasible reconstruction of bone structures remains one of the main challenges both for healthcare and for improvement of patients' quality of life. There is a growing interest in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) medical application, due to their multilineage differentiation potential, and tissue engineering integration to improve bone repair and regeneration. In this review we will describe the main characteristics of MSCs, such as osteogenesis, immunomodulation and antibacterial properties, key parameters to consider during bone repair strategies. Moreover, we describe the properties of calciumphosphate (CaP) bioceramics, which demonstrate to be useful tools in combination with MSCs, due to their biocompatibility, osseointegration and osteoconduction for bone repair and regeneration. Also, we overview the main characteristics of dental cavity MSCs, which are promising candidates, in combination with CaP bioceramics, for bone regeneration and tissue engineering. The understanding of MSCs biology and their interaction with CaP bioceramics and other biomaterials is critical for orthopedic surgical bone replacement, reconstruction and regeneration, which is an integrative and dynamic medical, scientific and bioengineering field of research and biotechnology