| OBJECTIVE Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which comprise a distinct population from typical hematopoietic stromal cells, are multipotent and serve as precursors of bone marrow stroma, bone, cartilage, muscle, tendon, fat, and connective tissue cells. It has been reported that MSCs are present in bone marrow, adult peripheral blood, and umbilical cord blood (UCB). It has been demonstrated that human mesenchymal cells derived from bone marrow have the ability of differentiation into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes under specialized conditions. Oscar et al. characterized human UCB-derived MSCs and showed that these mesenchymal cells differentiated into osteoblastic, adipogenic and neural cells. In contrast to these reports, Mareschi et al. demonstrated the differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells into osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic lineages by cytochemical and molecular biological analyses. But UCB cells died off quickly when differentiated under the same conditon. Thus, it remains controversial whether cells derived from umbilical cord blood contain mesenchymal cells consistently capable of differentiating into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, or adipocytes.Neural transplantation has been reported to promote the regenerative potential of the brain after an ischemic insult. Fetal neural stem cells can reduce behavioral deficits in damaged and... |
