Characteristics and regulation of mesenchymal stem cell plasticity by the microenvironment - specific factors involved in the regulation of MSC plasticity

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), multipotent stromal cells, have attracted exten-sive attention in the field of regenerative medicine and cell therapy due to the capacity of self-renewal, multilineage differentiation, and immune regulation. MSCs have different cellular effects in different diseases, and even have markedly different curative effects with different tissue sources, indicating the plasticity of MSCs. The phenotypes, secreted factors, and proliferative, migratory, differentiating, and immunomodulatory effects of MSCs depend on certain mediators present in their microenvironment. Understanding microenvironmental factors and their internal mechanisms in MSC responses may help in subsequent prediction and improvement of clinical benefits. This review highlighted the recent advances in MSC plas-ticity in the physiological and pathological microenvironment and multiple microenviron-mental factors regulating MSC plasticity. It also highlighted some progress in the underlying molecular mechanisms of MSC remodeling in the microenvironment. It might provide refer-ences for the improvement in vitro culture of MSCs, clinical application, and in vivo induction. Copyright (c) 2020, Chongqing Medical University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively studied in the field of regenerative medicine and cell therapy due to their self-renewal, multilineage differentiation, and immune regulation capacities. This review summarizes the plasticity of MSCs in different diseases and tissue sources, as well as the microenvironmental factors and molecular mechanisms that regulate their plasticity.