Mesenchymal stem cells : an alternative for bone regeneration

Review Article
Lina María Franco González

Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, sede Medellín

Luz Marina Restrepo Múnera

Universidad de Antioquia

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (msc) are found in the bone marrow and have the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation in multiple lineages: osteogenic, condrogenic, adipogenic and thenogenic. They also serve as reservoirs involved in homeostasis, maintenance and cellular regeneration. Their application in bone alterations (traumatic defects, inflammatory and degenerative diseases) has led to the development of new osteo/conductive and/or inductive therapies. During the differentiation process of mscs to the osteogenic lineage, the progression of several cellular states is required to achieve development of the mature cell —osteocyte—, responsible for the balance and regulation of bone formation; mscs can also be differentiated from osteoclasts, which are involved in bone loss (osteoclastogenesis). Different signaling pathways have been proposed to understand the mechanisms of this process of osteogenic differentiation; however, these have not yet been completely understood due to the complexity of signaling pathways and because they converge in common activation points, finally leading the mscs to an osteogenic phenotype.

Keywords: mesenchymal stem cell, differentiation, osteogenesis.

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Published
2014-01-10
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