Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Human mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (hMSCs) from bone marrow and other tissues are currently being administered to large numbers of patients. The trials are proceeding even though cultures of the cells are heterogeneous, and there is large variability among preparations of hMSCs due to differences among donors, culture conditions, and inconsistent tissue sampling. This is also confounded by the lack of definitive biomarkers to predict the efficacy of hMSCs in vivo. Therefore,the value of the data obtained from current clinical trials could be compromised by variations in the quality of the hMSCs employed. To ensure such trials continue generating quality data, there is a critical need for simple in vitro bioassays to predict hMSC efficacy in vivo. This presentation will provide the first biomarker that can predict the efficacy of hMSCs in suppressing sterile inflammation in vivo.