Mesenchymal Stem Cells, their involvement in life-long tissue regeneration, their genetic instability following genotoxic stress and detrimental effects for age-related degenerative diseases. MSCs are normally protected from environmental stress by cellular detox mechanisms (for instance autophagy) and genetic maintenance mechanisms (DNA repair by homologous recombination). Upon physiological ageing and certain disease conditions, however, these protective functions can be compromised.