Anales RANF

Simposium 4: HOW PURINERGIC SIGNALING INFLUENCES THE ACTIVITY OF HUMAN MESENCHYMAL STROMAL/STEM CELLS Chairs : Renata Ciccarelli (Chieti, Italy) / Lin-Hua Jiang (Leeds, UK) Content : The aim of this symposium is to give an overview of recent advances on the influence of purines on the activity/function of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs). These cells, which can be isolated from different human adult tissues (i.e. bone marrow, adipose or dental tissues) and embryonic annexes (umbilical cord, placenta) or fluids (amniotic liquid) are today actively studied given the great differentiation potential of these cells, which represent a possible new therapeutic tool in regenerative medicine. Stem cells are also present in tumors as a restrict population generally provided with a great invasiveness and resistance to radio- and chemo-therapy. Thus, considering that purines are ancestral molecules present in and released from virtually all cell types, including normal or tumor MSCs, there is a growing interest to explore which purines are mostly present in the extracellular environment (due to the extensive metabolism of released nucleotides by ecto-enzymes) and how endogenous or exogenous purines can influence MSC potentialities by interacting with their own receptors as signaling molecules. Accordingly, this symposium will examine different aspects of the purine involvement in the modulation of physiological/pathological MSC functions and differentiation ability of these cells, including the control of intracellular calcium levels, which play a crucial role also in MSC homeostasis.