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The fi rst identifi ed source of MSCs was bone marrow. MSCs are currently
isolated from many different tissues in the body, such as the adipose tissue, periph-
eral blood, umbilical cord blood, banked umbilical cord blood, umbilical cord,
umbilical cord membrane, umbilical cord vein, Wharton’s jelly of the umbilical
cord, placenta, decidua basalis, ligamentum fl avum, amniotic fl uid, amniotic mem-
brane, dental pulp, chorionic villi of the human placenta, fetal membranes, men-
strual blood, breast milk, and urine (Fig. 2.1 , Table 2.1 ).
2.2 How MSCs Can Treat Diseases?
Different than other stem cells, MSCs can be used to treat diseases by two different
mechanisms, including tissue repair and immune modulation. While tissue repair is
related to the differentiation of multipotent MSCs, immune modulation is a particu-
lar property of MSCs. Over the last decades, MSCs have been considered as a fea-
sible source of stem cells for tissue regeneration. It hopes to open the new era of
Fig. 2.1 Sources of MSCs. MSCs can be derived from several tissues in the adult or infant human body
P.V. P h a m