Tehran University of Medical Sciences International Journal of Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Research 2008-2207 11 1 2016 12 29 63 77 EN Roghayeh Hosseinikia Department of Health Education and Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Mohammad Reza Nikbakht Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, Iran Ali Asghar Moghaddam College of Veterinary Medicine, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran Ahmad Tajehmiri Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Mahboobe Hosseinikia Department of Health Education and Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Farhad Oubari Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Mahin Nikougoftar Zarif Iranian Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran Yahya Pasdar Department of Health Education and Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Kamran Mansouri Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran 2016 01 23 2016 03 16 Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), as major stem cells for cell therapy, have been studied from different aspects in preclinical and clinical settings for more than a decade. These cells modulate the immune system (humoral and cellular immune responses) in vitro by producing soluble factors (anti-inflammatory molecules) and/or making cell-cell contacts. Hence, they could be used in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and immune therapy. MSCs-based therapy have been recently used for treatment of cancer regarding the migratory potential of these cells towards tumor cells which makes them considerable candidates, also for cell therapy in both allogeneic and autologous settings. So, this review attempts to focus on the factors secreted by MSCs such as cytokines, their functional role in mounting and controlling immune responses mediated by different immune cell subpopulations and their significance in regenerative medicine in clinical trials. Although, further studies remain to be done to increase our knowledge of regulating development mechanisms, homeostasis and tissue repair in order to provide new tools to implement the efficacy of cell therapy trials. Although MSCs have been proved safe and effective for cell therapy, there are still challenges to overcome before widely applying MSCs in clinic. https://ijhoscr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijhoscr/article/view/554 https://ijhoscr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijhoscr/article/download/554/539