Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) exhibit enormous therapeutic potential because of their
indispensable regenerative, reparative, angiogenic, anti-apoptotic, and immunosuppressive properties.
MSCs can best differentiate into mesodermal cell lineages, including osteoblasts, adipocytes, muscle
cells, endothelial cells and chondrocytes. Specific differentiation of MSCs could be induced through
limited conditions. In addition to the relevant differentiation factors, drastic changes also occur in the
microenvironment to conduct it in an optimal manner for particular differentiation. Recent evidence
suggests that the mitochondria participate in the regulating of direction and process of MSCs differentiation.
Therefore, our current review focuses on how mitochondria participate in both osteogenesis and
adipogenesis of MSC differentiation. Besides that, in our current review, we try to provide a further
understanding of the relationship between the behavior of mitochondria and the direction of MSC differentiation,
which could optimize current cellular culturing protocols for further facilitating tissue
engineering by adjusting specific conditions of stem cells.