Authors: Mihaela Crisan, Solomon Yap, Louis Casteilla, Chien-Wen Chen, Mirko
Corselli, Tea Soon Park, Gabriella Andriolo, Bin Sun, Bo Zheng, Li Zhang,
Cyrille Norotte, Pang-Ning Teng, Jeremy Traas, Rebecca Schugar, Bridget M. Deasy, Stephen Badylak, Hans-Jörg Bűhring, Jean-Paul Giacobino, Lorenza Lazzari, Johnny Huard and Bruno Péault

Title: A Perivascular Origin for Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Multiple Human Organs

Summary: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), the archetypal multipotent progenitor cells derived in cultures of developed organs, are of unknown identity and native distribution. We have prospectively identified perivascular cells, principally pericytes, in multiple human organs including skeletal muscle, pancreas, adipose tissue and placenta, on CD146, NG2 and PDGF-Rβ expression and absence of hematopoietic, endothelial and myogenic cell markers. Perivascular cells purified from skeletal muscle or nonmuscle tissues were myogenic in culture and in vivo. Irrespective of their tissue origin, long-term cultured perivascular cells retained myogenicity, exhibited, at the clonal level, osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic potentials, expressed mesenchymal stem cell markers and migrated in a culture model of chemotaxis. Expression of MSC markers was also detected at the surface of native, non-cultured perivascular cells. Thus, blood vessel walls harbor a reserve of progenitor cells that may be integral to the origin of the elusive MSC and other related adult stem cells.

Source: Cell Stem Cell. 2008 Sep 11;3(3):301-13.