This study evaluated clinical outcomes following intraoperative use of adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in various oral reconstructive procedures. PubMed was searched without language restrictions from 2000 to 2011 using the search words stem cell, oral surgery, tissue engineering, sinus lift, bone regeneration and combinations of these. Inclusion criteria were intraoperative use of MSCs in the study design. Reference lists of the articles found were searched for other related studies. Eighteen clinical trials using MSCs for sinus augmentation were found: five case reports on the repair of large bony defects and six studies on ridge augmentation and healing of alveolar sockets after third molar extraction. The findings suggest that MSCs are capable of producing in vivo bone, re-establishing lost tissue and facilitating placement of dental implants. Use of MSCs would reduce patient morbidity because of a less stressful harvesting technique than that of autogenous bone. The majority of clinical trials indicate that MSCs can produce bone in vivo. However, a satisfactory outcome was not seen in all studies, and due to the diversity of study designs, a 'golden approach' cannot be determined. Before use of MSCs can be considered as a first-choice treatment, more predictable outcomes and better long-term prognoses need to be established. Conventional bone grafting remains the gold standard.

An important goal of stem cell research in orthopaedics is to develop clinically relevant techniques that could be applied to heal cartilage or joint pathology. Stem cell treatment in orthopaedics for joint pathology is promising since these cells have the ability to modulate different processes in the various tissues of the joint simultaneously. The non life-threatening nature of musculoskeletal system disorders makes safety of stem cell therapy a necessary prerequisite.

Cell-based approaches, utilizing adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are reported to overcome the limitations of conventional bone augmentation procedures.

This review aimed to examine the effects of exercise training on mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in patients with cardiovascular disease and to discuss the possible mechanisms involved in the process. A computer-aided search on PubMed and PEDro was conducted to identify relevant studies published up to June 2012. Two reviewers independently selected studies for inclusion and extracted data, namely, quantitative assessment of circulating EPCs. Of the 88 identified studies, 13 met the inclusion criteria. The 13 studies enrolled 648 participants, including patients with chronic heart failure, peripheral artery disease, and coronary artery disease. The exercise characteristics varied largely across the studies: exercise duration ranged from 2 wks to 6 mos, session duration ranged from 20 to 60 mins, and exercise intensity was usually calculated using the maximal heart rate (ranging from 75% to 85%) or the peak/maximum oxygen consumption (60%-70%). All studies used aerobic exercise. The great majority of the 13 studies reported significant effects of different exercise regimens on the number of circulating EPCs. In summary, exercise training seems to increase the number of circulating EPCs, which could contribute to vascular regeneration and angiogenesis. These positive effects of chronic exercise seem to be closely related to the bioavailability of nitric oxide, including increased activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and antioxidant enzymes, and activation of matrix metalloproteinase 9.

There is considerable interest in translating laboratory advances in neuronal regeneration following spinal cord injury (SCI). A multimodality approach has been advocated for successful functional neuronal regeneration. With this goal in mind several biomaterials have been employed as neuronal bridges either to support cellular transplants, to release neurotrophic factors, or to do both. A systematic review of this literature is lacking. Such a review may provide insight to strategies with a high potential for further investigation and potential clinical application.

The aim of this systematic review was to investigate whether stem cells could be effectively applied in targeted therapy of breast cancer.

Colony stimulating factors (CSFs), also called haematopoietic growth factors, regulate bone marrow production of circulating red and white cells, and platelets. Some CSFs also mobilise the release of bone marrow stem cells into the circulation. CSFs have been shown to be neuroprotective in experimental stroke.

Thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is the most frequent extrathyroidal manifestation of Graves' disease, affecting up to 50% of patients, and has a great impact on quality of life. Rituximab is a human/murine chimeric monoclonal antibody that targets CD20, a transmembrane protein expressed on the surface of pre-B and mature B lymphocytes, but not on stem cells, pro-B lymphocytes or plasma cells. Preliminary work has shown that blocking the CD20 receptor on B-lymphocytes with rituximab affects the clinical course of TAO, by reducing inflammation and the degree of proptosis.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the leading cause of death in developed countries, and current treatment modalities have failed to regenerate the dead myocardium resulting from the ischemic damage. Stem cells have the potential to regenerate the damaged myocardium. These cells can be mobilized from the bone marrow by factors such as granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF).

Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder involving a defect in the red blood cells due to its sickled hemoglobin. The main therapeutic interventions include preventive and supportive measures. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantations are carried out with the aim of replacing the defective cells and their progenitors (hematopoietic (i.e. blood forming) stem cells) in order to correct the disorder.

Abstract Allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT) is considered a clinical option for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) who have experienced at least two chemosensitive relapses. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the benefits and harms of allo-SCT with an unrelated donor (UD) versus related donor (RD) allo-SCT for adult patients with HL. Alternative donor sources such as haploidentical donor cells (Haplo) and umbilical cord blood (UCB) were also included. The available evidence was limited. Ten studies were included in this assessment. Four studies provided sufficient data to compare UD with RD allo-SCT. None of these studies was a randomized controlled trial. Additionally, three non-comparative studies, such as registry analyses, which considered patients with UD transplants were included. The risk of bias in the studies was high. Results on overall and progression-free survival (PFS) showed no consistent tendency in favor of a donor type. Results on therapy-associated mortality and acute (grade II-IV) and chronic graft-versus-host disease were also inconsistent. The study comparing UCB with RD transplants and two non-comparative studies with UCB transplants showed similar results. One of the studies comparing additionally Haplo with RD transplants indicated a benefit in PFS for the Haplo transplant group. In summary, our findings do not indicate a substantial outcome disadvantage of UD and alternative donor sources versus RD allo-SCT for adult patients with advanced HL.

To investigate the correlation between CD133-positive gastric cancer and clinicopathological features and its impact on survival.

Cell transplantation, as a therapeutic intervention for spinal cord injury (SCI), has been extensively studied by researchers in recent years. A number of different kinds of stem cells, neural progenitors, and glial cells have been tested in basic research, and most have been excluded from clinical studies because of a variety of reasons, including safety and efficacy. The signaling pathways, protein interactions, cellular behavior, and the differentiated fates of experimental cells have been studied in vitro in detail. Furthermore, the survival, proliferation, differentiation, and effects on promoting functional recovery of transplanted cells have also been examined in different animal SCI models. However, despite significant progress, a "bench to bedside" gap still exists. In this paper, we comprehensively cover publications in the field from the last years. The most commonly utilized cell lineages were covered in this paper and specific areas covered include survival of grafted cells, axonal regeneration and remyelination, sensory and motor functional recovery, and electrophysiological improvements. Finally we also review the literature on the in vivo tracking techniques for transplanted cells.

To date, a great number of tissue engineering strategies have been suggested for alveolar cleft reconstruction; however, autologous bone grafting seems to remain the golden standard.

CD133 has recently been reported as a marker of cancer stem-like cells in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, its predictive value in CRC still remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between the expression of CD133 and clinicopathological features and the outcome of CRC patients by performing a meta-analysis.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals have a cardiovascular disease risk that is almost thrice than that of their HIV-uninfected counterparts. Given the critical role of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in vascular homeostasis and arterial repair postinjury, coupled with their strength as biomarkers predictive of cardiovascular events, interest has arisen in characterizing EPCs in the context of HIV infection. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine the current state of knowledge on EPCs in the context of HIV infection. Herein, we summarize the pertinent findings of these studies and discuss important differences in the subpopulations of EPCs examined and the methodologies used for their enumeration which likely contributed to the heterogeneity observed across studies.

Stem cell therapies have significant potential to treat spinal cord injury (SCI), but it remains difficult to translate these therapies from 'bench to bedside'. Identifying barriers to translation and understanding how these barriers are viewed by stakeholders in the field of stem cell research are key steps to clinical translation. The Stem Cell Global Blueprint Conference, held in Toronto (ON, Canada) presented a unique opportunity to analyze the perspectives of multiple stakeholders on the future of stem cell therapies for SCI treatment. This article is an analysis of data collected at the conference, including a consensus-building process and pre- and in-conference questionnaires. The authors used these data to assess current perceptions of stem cell research and compared the findings with the literature. The authors identified the major barriers according to a wide range of stakeholders and what strategies they suggested to overcome these obstacles, with the aim of forwarding discussion on stem cell research. It is not a systematic review of the area, but rather a presentation of expert opinion with literature citations to give context and support to their arguments and suggestions. The authors believe that the international SCI community is ready for larger-scale clinical translation, which will require the continued cooperation of all stakeholders in the stem cell and SCI communities.

The management and treatment of bone defects caused by trauma, non-union, tumors and disease poses a major clinical problem. Limitations with autograft and allograft have led to research into tissue engineering of bone graft using scaffolds and mesenchymal stem cells.

Meniscal injuries are one of the common sports injuries and their natural healing is limited. Removal of injured meniscus alters knee biomechanics and predisposes patients to osteoarthritis. Tissue engineered meniscus provides a novel approach for the treatment of severe meniscus injury. The aim of this review is to review preclinical studies that used cell based approaches for tissue engineered meniscus. Studies were assessed for inclusion following a search in PubMed, UK PubMed central and Embase. All preclinical studies that used cell based approaches for meniscus regeneration were included in the study. Nineteen articles that used cellular approaches were reviewed. The cell types used were mesenchymal stem cells (derived from bone marrow or synovium), meniscal fibrochondrocytes, chondrocytes and bone marrow stromal cells. One study used xenogeneic bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells. Sixteen out of nineteen studies showed better tissue regeneration with cell based approaches when compared to acellular controls. The review included preclinical studies. The diversity of the studies made it impossible to adhere to full guidelines or perform a meta-analysis. Overall,experiments have demonstrated superior tissue integration and favourable biochemical properties of the regenerated tissues compared to acellular techniques. Few approaches however, have measured the chondroprotective ability at preclinical testing.

The management of extensive bone defects in the setting of fracture repair, non-union and revision arthroplasty are challenging problems. The supply of harvestable autologous bone graft is limited, with an associated morbidity, and there fore a need exists for a better solution in large defects. The use of stem cells is an evolving field of research, with different potential applications, ranging from simple injection of cells to tissue engineering using osteogenic cells seeded on to a scaffold. This systematic review aims to collate the published preclinical and clinical studies investigating the potential use of stem cells for bone repair.