One of the major characteristics of MSCs is that they have...

One of the major characteristics of MSCs is that they have migratory abilities, that is, after administration, they specifically migrate to the sites of inflammation and tissue damage which is typically associated with cytokine outburst.

MSCs secrete a wide variety of different growth factors, cytokines, and adhesion molecules by which they affect the microenvironment of the inflamed and degenerating target tissue and thus maintain positive paracrine effect on the tissue repair.

Since MSCs exhibit significant immunomodulatory properties, they are able to escape the immune system recognition mechanisms and modulate the defense mechanisms of the host. Considering their low immunogenicity, MSCs are poorly recognized by human leukocyte antigen incompatible hosts. Therefore, they may well perform specific tasks such as immunomodulators in the maintenance of peripheral or transplantation tolerance, in autoimmune response, and tolerance between mother and fetus. The MSCs are able to influence many functions of activated T cells.

Because of high affinity to the tumor tissue, MSCs can also serve as the targeted carriers of therapeutic agents, as part of the tumor stroma in anticancer therapy.