Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from various tissues are multi-potency of self-renewal and differentiation into multi-lineages, including chondrocytes, adipocytes and osteoblasts in vitro and in vivo. In addition, these cells also display potent immune regulatory roles that benefit the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. We and others have previously identified that human gingival-derived mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) not only share similar biological features, but also display some potential advantages compared to other MSC populations. In the chapter, we have discussed the discovery, phenotypic and functional characteristics, as well as updated the advances of these cell therapies in immunological diseases.

Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells, gingival-derived mesenchymal stem cells, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, immunomodulatory, cell therapy

### 1. Introduction

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from mesoderm with features of self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation. These populations include MSCs that are primarily isolated from bone marrow (BMSCs) [1], fat [2], umbilical cord [3], dental pulp [4] and others [5, 6], particularly in most of adult tissues. Investigators have reported the successful differentiation of MSCs into mesenchymal-like cells, such as osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes [1–6], neural crest stem-like cells [7] and synoviocytes [8], and manifested that MSCs maintain immune homeostasis and prevent autoimmunity involving in the repair of impaired tissues and immunoregulation of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases [9, 10]. However, the occurrence and development of some autoimmune diseases are related to MSCs abnormality [11]. In addition, application of cell therapy using MSCs has weaknesses, like limited large-scale expansion in vitro and vivo [12], immunological rejection of allogeneic transplant and potential risk on tumorigenesis [13]. The availability of human gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) together with their potent capacity of self-renewal, proliferation, multi-directional differentiation, inflammatory modulation and less tumorigenesis makes it as an ideal subtype of MSCs.
