Abstract:

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be isolated from several tissues,  and can also differentiate into disparate tissues. MSCs bear some capabilities such as immunosuppression, tissue repair, accelerating hematopoietic recovery and reducing graft versus host disease(GVHD), which make MSCs the focus of researches. However, the trafficking, homing and survival of MSCs after infusion into animals and their influential factors are not clear. After reviewing  papers, here we reveal some factors influencing homing of MSCs in vivo such as filtration of lung, quantity and culture condition of MSCs and pathologic status of tissues, among which pathologic status (severity of tissue injury) plays a critical role. MSCs preferentially home to sites of tissue injury, the trafficking direction is in line with the chemokine density gradient, and this progress is associated with many ligands and their receptors. Comprehension of homing of mesenchymal stem cells after infusion in vivo may contribute to providing theoretical foundation for clinical utilization of MSCs.

Key words: mesenchymal stem cells, homing, transplantation