Mesenchymal endometrial stem/stromal cells for hard tissue engineering: a review of in vitro and in vivo evidence

Abstract

Hard tissues including teeth, bone and cartilage have inability or poor capacity to self-renew, especially in large defects. Therefore, repair of damages in these tissues represents a huge challenge in the medical field today. Hard tissue engineering commonly utilizes different stem cell sources as a promising strategy for treating bone, cartilages and tooth defects or disorders. Decades ago, researchers successfully isolated and identified endometrial mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (EnSCs) and discovered their multidifferentiation potential. Current studies suggest that EnSCs have significant advantages compared with stem cells derived from other tissues. In this review article, we summarize the current in vitro and in vivo studies that utilize EnSCs or menstrual blood-derived stem cells for differentiation to osteoblasts, odontoblasts or chondroblasts in an effort to realize the potential of these cells in hard tissues regeneration.