1. ¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Musgrave Park Hospital, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
2. ² Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Royal Victoria Hospital Trust, Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK

Correspondence: Dr Gang Li PhD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Biomedical Sciences, Musgrave Park Hospital, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7JB, UK. Email: g.li@qub.ac.uk

Received 14 February 2006; Accepted 5 April 2006.

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells are present within the bone marrow cavity and serve as a reservoir for the continuous renewal of various mesenchymal tissues. Recent studies suggest that mesenchymal stem cells modulate immune reactions in vitro and escape from immune surveillance in vivo. We provide herein a discussion of issues including the current research progress on the in vitro interactions of mesenchymal stem cells with multiple subsets of immune cells (dendritic cells, T cells, B cells and NK cells), in vivo transplantation outcomes, the possible underlying mechanisms, future research directions as well as potential clinical implications.