The group of Regenerative Medicine investigates the therapeutic effect of adult mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the human placenta. According to its acronym in English, these cells are called decidua-derived-mesenchymal-stromal-cells (DMSCs). The study of the characterization of the DMSCs was awarded in 2010 by the Diario Medico as one of “The Best Health Ideas of the Year 2010” in the area of Research and Pharmacology. These cells have a series of advantages over other types of stem cells. DMSCs, like bone marrow mesenchymal cells, are immune-privileged cells that are well tolerated in allogeneic transplantation.
The lines of research in which the group works and / or collaborates are directed to the use of DMSCs in the in vivo regeneration of tissues in several pathologies, such as cancer, urinary incontinence, bone regeneration, deafness, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, etc. The DMSCs can also serve as in vitro models for the study of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of those pathologies, as well as, for the study of the effects of drugs, since the cells can be differentiated in vitro to a large number of tissues. DMSCs are also useful as cellular carriers of therapeutic agents included in nanoparticles, plasmids, etc.
