Chen GY, Kang JB, Xiang WJ, Liu M. From discarded tissues to therapeutic assets: Optimizing mesenchymal stem cell sources and secretome signatures for clinical translation. World J Stem Cells 2026; 18(6): 117267 [DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.117267]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Meng Liu, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, No. 130 Huaihai West Road, Xuzhou 221000, Jiangsu Province, China. 578647325@qq.com
Research Domain of This Article
Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine
Article-Type of This Article
editorial
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Chen GY, Kang JB, Xiang WJ, Liu M. From discarded tissues to therapeutic assets: Optimizing mesenchymal stem cell sources and secretome signatures for clinical translation. World J Stem Cells 2026; 18(6): 117267 [DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.117267]
World J Stem Cells. Jun 26, 2026; 18(6): 117267 Published online Jun 26, 2026. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.117267
From discarded tissues to therapeutic assets: Optimizing mesenchymal stem cell sources and secretome signatures for clinical translation
Guan-Yu Chen, Jia-Bing Kang, Wen-Jing Xiang, Meng Liu
Guan-Yu Chen, Jia-Bing Kang, Wen-Jing Xiang, Department of Experimental Orofacial Medicine, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg 35039, Germany
Meng Liu, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221000, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Guan-Yu Chen and Jia-Bing Kang.
Author contributions: Chen GY and Kang JB contributed equally to this manuscript and as co-first authors of this manuscript. Chen GY and Liu M contributed to the conception and design of the work, and critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; Kang JB contributed to the conceptualization of the work and drafting of the manuscript; Xiang WJ contributed to the acquisition and interpretation of the literature and participated in manuscript drafting. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
AI contribution statement: DeepL and Grammarly were used for translation and language polishing. Figures were created by the authors using Figdraw (a vector-based tool), not generative AI.
Supported by China Scholarship Council, No. 202408520036.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Meng Liu, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, No. 130 Huaihai West Road, Xuzhou 221000, Jiangsu Province, China. 578647325@qq.com
Received: December 3, 2025 Revised: December 28, 2025 Accepted: February 10, 2026 Published online: June 26, 2026 Processing time: 204 Days and 9.9 Hours
Abstract
Discarded biological tissues increasingly reveal unexpected value as regenerative reservoirs, particularly as sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their secretome-based therapeutic products. In the recent issue of World Journal of Stem Cells, Dam et al reinforce this paradigm by showing that MSCs derived from different adipose fractions share core phenotypic characteristics yet display source-dependent paracrine signatures - most notably in their differential growth factor profiles - that critically influence therapeutic behavior. From the perspective of oral and maxillofacial surgery, tissues routinely discarded during clinical procedures - including dental pulp, exfoliated deciduous teeth, periodontal ligament, and apical papilla - represent accessible and ethically favorable sources enriched with potent MSC populations. Owing to their neural crest origin, dental-derived MSCs exhibit unique proliferative dynamics and a distinct secretome composition, positioning them as strong candidates for next-generation cell-free regenerative strategies. Reframing these tissues as regenerative assets enables new opportunities for biobanking, mechanistic exploration, and precision engineering of MSC secretomes to improve therapeutic consistency. Progress in this direction will require harmonized isolation standards and systematic characterization of secretome heterogeneity to support the clinical translation of these unconventional yet highly valuable MSC reservoirs into deployable regenerative products.
Core Tip: This editorial reframes discarded biological tissues, particularly those from oral and maxillofacial surgery, as valuable regenerative assets rather than medical waste. Drawing on comparative insights from adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, we highlight how the neural crest origin of dental mesenchymal stem cells endows them with unique secretome signatures and therapeutic potential. Furthermore, we discuss advanced engineering strategies - such as hypoxic preconditioning, three-dimensional culture, and smart hydrogel delivery - to overcome secretome heterogeneity and facilitate the clinical translation of these cell-free therapies for precision regenerative medicine.
