Fetal Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: an Opportunity for Prenatal Cellular Therapy.

Purpose of Review: The aim of the study is to provide an overview on the possibility of treating congenital disorders prenatally with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs).

Recent Findings: MSCs have multilineage potential and a low immunogenic profile and are immunomodulatory and more easy to expand in culture. Their ability to migrate, engraft and differentiate, or act via a paracrine effect on target tissues makes MSCs candidates for clinical therapies. Fetal and extra-fetal MSCs offer higher therapeutic potential compared to MSCs derived from adult sources.

Summary: MSCs may be safely transplanted prenatally via ultrasound-guided injection into the umbilical cord. Due to these characteristics, fetal MSCs are of great interest in the field of in utero stem cell transplantation for treatment of congenital disease.