What are MUSE cells?
MUSE stands for Multilineage-differentiating Stress-Enduring cells. They are a small subgroup of cells found within mesenchymal stem cell cultures, first described by Dr. Mari Dezawa at Tohoku University in Japan. Researchers are interested in them because of their reported ability to survive stress and to become different kinds of cells.
How MUSE cells relate to mesenchymal stem cells
This question usually gets answered badly in one of two directions: either MUSE cells are presented as a new generation that replaces everything else, or they are dismissed entirely. Neither is accurate.
MUSE cells are not a separate source or a competing product. They are a subpopulation found inside mesenchymal cell populations, making up roughly one percent to a few percent of them (Minatoguchi et al., 2024). So this is not really A versus B. It is a part of A, studied on its own.
Mesenchymal stem cells are defined by internationally agreed minimal criteria: they adhere to plastic, carry a specific surface-marker profile, and can differentiate along three lineages in culture (Dominici et al., 2006). That shared definition is what lets a laboratory in Medellín and a laboratory in Tokyo say they are working with the same kind of cell. Their main mode of action in therapy is understood today as paracrine signalling — the release of growth factors, cytokines and vesicles that modulate the environment around them (Caplan & Correa, 2011). Their value is attributed less to what they become and more to what they signal.
MUSE cells were described in 2010. They are identified by the surface marker SSEA-3 and are found in bone marrow, peripheral blood and the connective tissue of most organs. In the original work they could self-renew from a single cell, generated cells of the three germ layers, tolerated cellular stress, and did not form teratomas in the immunodeficient mice tested — unlike embryonic stem cells (Kuroda et al., 2010). Later work describes homing to damaged tissue through sphingosine-1-phosphate signalling and a particular immune-privilege profile (Alanazi et al., 2023).
What is established, and what is still being studied
- Reasonably established. That MUSE cells exist as a defined subpopulation and can be isolated using SSEA-3. That in preclinical models they tolerate stress, migrate towards damaged tissue, and have not produced tumours. And that mesenchymal stem cells act largely through paracrine mechanisms.
- Still under investigation. Clinical efficacy in humans. The MUSE clinical programme is at an early stage, with work reported in myocardial infarction, stroke, epidermolysis bullosa and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, administered intravenously as donor cells without HLA-matching tests or immunosuppressant treatment (Minatoguchi et al., 2024). Early-phase results are not the same as demonstrated efficacy, and the field says so openly.
- Not established. That either cell type produces better clinical outcomes than the other. No head-to-head trial has compared them in humans, so any comparison presented as settled is running ahead of the data — in either direction.
Two things are worth knowing when you read about this. Much of the MUSE literature comes from the group that first described the cells, which is normal in a young field but useful context. And the clinical-grade MUSE product used in those trials is proprietary and was developed in Japan, so it is not something a treatment center can simply obtain.
If you are comparing options, the useful question is not which cell is better. It is what any given center can tell you about the cells it actually uses.
Are they offered?
No. Stem Cells Colombia looked closely at MUSE cells and was preparing to offer them. The doctors chose to wait for more published research, and to focus on the cells used in regenerative medicine around the world: mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton’s jelly.
What is used instead
Mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton’s jelly, the tissue of the umbilical cord, donated after healthy births. The donor and the cord are screened and tested, and every vial comes with its quality certificate. See how the stem cells are screened and certified.
The cells are used at a defined passage, passage 3, with each batch released against set specifications. That choice is about consistency and traceability — knowing exactly what is administered and being able to document it. It is not a statement that other approaches do not work.
References
- Alanazi, R. F., et al. (2023). Multilineage differentiating stress enduring (Muse) cells: A new era of stem cell-based therapy. Cells, 12(13), 1676. doi:10.3390/cells12131676
- Caplan, A. I., & Correa, D. (2011). The MSC: An injury drugstore. Cell Stem Cell, 9(1), 11–15. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2011.06.008
- Dominici, M., et al. (2006). Minimal criteria for defining multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells. Cytotherapy, 8(4), 315–317. doi:10.1080/14653240600855905
- Kuroda, Y., et al. (2010). Unique multipotent cells in adult human mesenchymal cell populations. PNAS, 107(19), 8639–8643. doi:10.1073/pnas.0911647107
- Minatoguchi, S., et al. (2024). Donor Muse cell treatment without HLA-matching tests and immunosuppressant treatment. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 13(6), 532–545. doi:10.1093/stcltm/szae018
Stem cell therapy is not approved by the FDA, but in Colombia it is legal.