Introductory Chapter: Update on Mesenchymal and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Abstract

Stem cells are a subset of biological cells in the human body that are capable of self-renewal, tissue repair, differentiation, and division into different cell lineages [1–3]. Based on their origin and potency, stem cells are divided into either (1) embryonic and adult (non-embryonic) stem cells or (2) unipotent, oligopotent, totipotent, multipotent, and pluripotent stem cells [1, 2, 4, 5]. Multipotent or adult stem cells include mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), while pluripotent stem cells include embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) [5].