Immune Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Translation of Neural Disorders

Mesenchymal Stem cells (MSCs) are in clinical trails for a variety of disorders and thus far, there is no report of deleterious effect. Early studies suggested that MSCs were mesodermal in origin. However, more recent studies indicate that MSCs could be neuroectodermal in origin. This origin might explain why MSCs can efficiently form functional neurons. MSCs are proposed for several medical indications, mostly due to reduced ethical concerns, ease in expansion, ability to be transplanted across allogeneic barrier (off the shelf) and plasticity. Indications include, but are not limited to therapy for inflammation, tissue repair, protection of tissue damage and neuronal disorder. Despite the therapeutic promise for MSCs, there are variations in the data among and within labs. The hindrance appears to be mostly due to the lack of consensus to expand MSCs. We discuss the potential treatment of spinal cord and traumatic brain injury with MSCs and, the utilization of zebrafish as a model system for regenerative medicine. We also discuss the importance of a molecular balance to prevent transformation of MSCs during differentiation to neural cells. We explain the over-arching chapter role of the immune properties of MSCs in the translation of MSCs as well as safety issues for clinical application.