Genetic engineering of mesenchymal stem cells by non-viral gene delivery

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an ideal cell source for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as they possess self-renewal properties and multilineage differentiation potential. They can be isolated from various tissues and expanded easily through normal cell culture techniques. Genetic modifications of MSCs to further improve their therapeutic efficacy have been widely studied and extensively researched. Compared to viral gene delivery methods, non-viral methods generate less toxicity and immunogenicity and thus represent a promising and effective tool for the genetic engineering of MSCs. In the last decades, various non-viral gene delivery strategies have been developed and some of them have been applied for MSC transfection. This paper gives an overview of the techniques, influencing factors and potential applications of non-viral methods used for the genetic engineering of MSCs.