[Progress of study on placenta mesenchymal stem cells--review]

Recently mesenchymal stem cells have been successfully obtained from various sources of human body, including bone marrow, compact bone, peripheral blood, adipose tissue, cord blood, amniotic fluid and other fetal tissues. Placenta, as a temporary organ keeping substance exchange between mother and fetus, consisted of decidua basalis and chorion frondosum, which derived from cytotrophoblast and extraembryonic mesoderm, thus involved both primary embryonic cells and adult stem cells. As a castoff after parturition, along with the ease of accessibility, lack of ethical concerns, placenta may be an attractive source of mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells for basic and clinical application. Therefore, the origin, isolation, characteristics and potential uses in future therapy are mainly reviewed in this paper.