Strategies to improve regenerative potential of mesenchymal stem cells

Figure 1 Increased donor age, disease conditions and in vitro expansion of cells reduce stem cell potential, making the cells less suitable for cell-based therapies. Stem cell function can be enhanced using strategies such as hypoxia, heat shock, caloric restriction and growth factor preconditioning. These strategies positively affect proliferation, migration, paracrine activity and differentiation potential of cells, and reduce senescence and apoptosis. Such pretreatment of cells makes the cells more suitable for cell based regenerative therapies.