Opinion Review
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World J Stem Cells. Feb 26, 2020; 12(2): 100-109
Published online Feb 26, 2020. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v12.i2.100
Mesenchymal stem cells from different sources and their derived exosomes: A pre-clinical perspective
María Álvarez-Viejo
María Álvarez-Viejo, Unidad de Terapia Celular y Medicina Regenerativa, Servicio de Hematología y Hemoterapia, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo 33011, Spain
María Álvarez-Viejo, Plataforma de Terapias Avanzadas, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo 33011, Spain
Author contributions: Álvarez-Viejo M wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Author declare no conflicts of interest related to this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: María Álvarez-Viejo, PhD, Associate Professor, Unidad de Terapia Celular y Medicina Regenerativa, Servicio de Hematología y Hemoterapia, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo 33011, Spain. maria.alvarezv@sespa.es
Received: August 29, 2019
Peer-review started: August 29, 2019
First decision: November 12, 2019
Revised: December 18, 2019
Accepted: January 14, 2020
Article in press: January 14, 2020
Published online: February 26, 2020
Processing time: 181 Days and 23.3 Hours
Abstract

Since the introduction of cell therapy as a strategy for the treatment of many diseases, mesenchymal stem cells have emerged as ideal candidates, yet the underlying mechanisms of their beneficial effects are only partially understood. At the start of the 21st century, a paracrine effect was proposed as a mechanism of tissue repair by these cells. In addition, a role was suggested for a heterogeneous population of extracellular vesicles in cell-to-cell communication. Some of these vesicles including exosomes have been isolated from most fluids and cells, as well as from supernatants of in vitro cell cultures. Recent research in the field of regenerative medicine suggests that exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells could be a powerful new therapeutic tool. This review examines the therapeutic potential of these exosomes obtained from the sources most used in cell therapy: bone marrow, adipose tissue, and umbilical cord.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells; Exosomes; Cellular therapy

Core tip: This article reviews the use of exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells to treat various disease states and discusses their possible clinical applications.