Concise Review: The Surface Markers and Identity of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
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Implication
Narrative review evaluates surface marker expression and cellular origin across human mesenchymal stem cell sources, highlighting heterogeneity that complicates in vivo identification.
Key Points
- To review candidate surface marker profiles and evaluate whether mesenchymal stem cells share an in vivo origin with fibroblasts or pericytes.
- Reviewed published literature detailing surface antigen profiles of human mesenchymal stem cells isolated from bone marrow and alternative tissue niches.
- Assessed the expression fidelity of prominent candidate stemness markers, including Stro-1, SSEA-4, CD271, and CD146, across different tissue sources.
- No single surface marker reliably clones or isolates mesenchymal stem cell populations that consistently satisfy minimal stemness criteria across varying tissue microenvironments.
- Candidate surface markers such as Stro-1, SSEA-4, CD271, and CD146 display high variability in expression depending on tissue origin.
- Phenotypic and functional overlaps with fibroblasts and pericytes prevent definitive characterization of the native in vivo identity of mesenchymal stem cells.
Cite This Study
Lv et al. (2014) studied this question.