Proteomic analysis of mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem or stromal cells (MSCs) are of great interest in biomedical sciences and disease treatment because of their multipotency and wide range of applications for tissue repair and suppression of the immune system. Proteomic analysis of these unique cells has contributed to the identification of important pathways utilized by MSCs to differentiate into distinct tissues as well as important proteins responsible for their special function in vivo and in vitro. However, comparison of proteomic studies in MSCs still suffers from the heterogeneity of MSC preparations. In addition, as proteomics technology advances, several studies can be revisited in order to increase the depth of analysis and, therefore, elucidate more refined mechanisms involved in MSC functionalities. Here, we present detailed protocols to obtain MSCs, as well as protocols to perform in-depth profiling and quantification of alterations in MSC proteomes.