An Overview of the Biological Processes of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Response to an Inflammatory Milieu

There is continued interest in applying adult human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in tissue regeneration, as well as mitigating overt inflammation such as graft versus host disease. MSCs are derived from different sources such as bone marrow, bone chips, dental pulp, adipose tissues, and placenta. MSCs appear to exert a memory for their tissue of origin. Interestingly, despite positive outcomes of MSCs in vivo, their survival in host tissues appears to be short-lived. To date, based on research and clinical literature, there is a need to understand how MSCs are maintained in a multipotent state. We discuss the role for the inflammatory milieu in which soluble and insoluble such as exosomes can determine the immune response of MSCs – suppressor versus enhancer. This article discusses a central role for the transcription factor NFκB in maintaining multipotency, and discusses how the inflammatory milieu influences the differentiation of MSCs. Lessons are drawn from the literature on MSCs in cancer to further describe the role of NFκB in maintaining the stem cell state. The findings outlined in this article could be important to future translational studies.