Omentum in the repair of injured tissue: Evidence for omental stem cells

The omentum is a fatty peritoneal fold with an apron-like structure that extends from the greater curvature of the stomach to cover most abdominal organs. Its unique biological properties in healing and regeneration have long been noted in surgical practice. In particular, the use of the omentum in a number of pathological conditions has demonstrated its capacity to revascularize ischemic areas, to absorb large amounts of edema fluids and to limit the formation of scar tissue at the site of injury. However, despite its clinical importance, the mechanisms underlying its role in healing and regeneration remain poorly understood. The current knowledge of stem cells could shed some light on these reparative properties of the omentum, first observed by surgeons a relatively long time ago, as recent studies provide evidence for the presence of stem cells in omentum. This fact has drawn attention to the omentum as a possible source of stem cells for use in cell therapies. For this purpose it is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of omentum biology and to learn from the results obtained using the omentum in surgical practice.