by Rebecca Roberts, PhD – The Scientist –
With the power of self-renewal and multipotency, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) offer the possibility of regenerative treatment for a variety of medical conditions, including spinal cord injury and damage following a heart attack.1
A leading hypothesis is that the therapeutic benefits of MSCs are conferred by their secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs): membrane-derived structures that contain a variety of important bioactive molecules.2 Therapeutic cells like MSCs have variable EV production, contributing to inconsistent outcomes that hinder their clinical translation. Yet, scientists are unable to select cells based on their EV secretion levels.
