ABSTRACT
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stems cells that self- renew and differentiate into specialized cells such as chondrocytes (cartilage cells), osteoblasts (bone cells), and adipocytes (fat cells). MSCs can be isolated from various tissues throughout the body including the periosteum, muscle, circulating blood, bone marrow, adipose tissue, blood vessels, and trabecular bone. Recently, scientists have successfully extracted and cultured MSCs from compact bones. There are various methods for isolating compact bone (CB) MSCs from human, rabbit, and rodent models and have been successfully utilized in clinical applications. This protocol describes isolating CB-MSCs from rabbit and rat animal models.
