Dissecting Mesenchymal Stem Cell Movement: Migration Assays for Tracing and Deducing Cell Migration

Targeted migration is a necessary attribute for any gene delivery vehicle. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been used as effective delivery vehicles for treatments against cancer, graft versus host disease, �arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and many other diseases. MSC migrate toward sites of inflammation, however, the true migratory mechanism has yet to be elucidated. There are several receptors and respective chemokines known to be involved in the migration of the MSC. Further insight to MSC migration will be revealed both in vivo and in vitro through the application of migration assays from the most simple, to the more technologically demanding.