Anti-aging and Rejuvenation Based on Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cells are present in the tissues and organs. These cells remain in a quiescent and undifferentiated state until it is physiologically necessary to produce new descendant cells or when a disease or tissue damage activates their proliferation with the aim of repairing the tissue. In response to damage, stem cells secrete components of the extracellular matrix components, paracrine factors, and extracellular vesicles, primarily exosomes, and can also increase their own pool and/or differentiate. The pluripotency and immunomodulatory features of stem cells could potentially be an effective tool in cell therapy and tissue repair for both autologous and allogeneic use. In the specific case of mesenchymal stem cells of adipose tissue, these can be isolated in large amounts from the biological material obtained by liposuction. Aging affects the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation of stem cells. This is why there is a decrease in the potential for regeneration. Aging involves the loss of optimal functions of the organism over time. Cell therapy could potentially be one of the most promising therapies to control aging due to the fact that single stem cell transplantation can regenerate or substitute the injured tissue. Stem cells can be used well both to prevent diseases and for the treatment of any of their clinical stages due to the ability of stem cells to recognize and migrate to sites of damage from the circulation in response to signals that are activated in damaged tissues. To understand the involvement of stem cells not only in tissue maintenance and disease but also in the control of aging it is important to know and identify their properties, functions, and regulation in vivo, which are addressed in this chapter.