Yueyuan Zhou, Yusuke Yamamoto, Takahiro Ochiya, Zhongdang Xiao and Toshimitsu Itaya
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to reside in the stromal fraction of many tissues and have multiple differentiations. MSCs isolated from different sources have functional heterogeneity that is controlled by dynamic interactions between extracellular signaling, epigenetic, transcriptional and post-translational regulation. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from MSCs are one of the main factors responsible for the therapeutic effect of MSCs. We propose here that EVs from different types of MSCs maintain the imparity. Recent studies have revealed that microRNAs (miRNAs), one of the integral cargoes of EVs, play a crucial role in translational regulation. We thus examined the miRNAs expression patterns in EVs derived from mesenchymal stem cells isolated from the bone marrow (BM), adipose tissue (AT), Wharton’s jelly (WJ) and human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) and summarized the biological functions of common and specific miRNAs as well as their target genes in physiological and pathological processes. The data presented here help compare the biological properties and potential of EVs from these distinct MSC populations.