Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) are a class of stem cells with high differentiative potential, an immuno-privileged status and easy access for collection, which raise no legal or ethical issues. WJ-MSCs exhibit several features of embryonic stem cells, both in the phenotypic and genetic aspects, with only a few differences, such as a shorter doubling time and a more extensive ex vivo expansion capacity. WJ-MSCs have immunomodulatory properties, involving both innate and adaptive immune responses. This review focuses on the role of WJ-MSCs in the management of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a life-threatening complication of the allogenic transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells. Different studies documented the beneficial effect of the infusion of WJ-MSCs, even when not fully HLA identical, in patients with severe GvHD, refractory to standard treatment. Finally, we summarized current ongoing clinical trials with WJ-MSCs and their potential in regenerative medicine.

Wilm’s tumor 1 (WT1), a zinc-finger transcription factor and an epigenetic modifier, is frequently overexpressed in several hematologic disorders and solid tumors, and it has been proposed as diagnostic and prognostic marker of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). However, the exact role of WT1 in leukemogenesis and disease progression remains unclear. In this real-world evidence retrospective study, we investigated prognostic role of WT1-mRNA expression levels in AML and MDS patients and correlations with complete blood counts, flow cytometry counts, and molecular features. A total of 71 patients (AML, n = 46; and MDS, n = 25) were included in this study, and WT1 levels were assessed at diagnosis, during treatment and follow-up. We showed that WT1 expression levels were inversely correlated with normal hemopoiesis in both AML and MDS, and positively associated with blast counts. Flow cytometry was more sensitive and specific in distinguishing normal myeloid cells from neoplastic counterpart even just using linear parameters and CD45 expression. Moreover, we showed that a simple integrated approach combining blast counts by flow cytometry, FLT3 mutational status, and WT1 expression levels might be a useful tool for a better prognostic definition in both AML and MDS patients.

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In this study, chondrogenic potentials of 3D high-density cultures of Bone Marrow (BM) and Wharton’s Jelly (WJ)-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) was investigated by chondrogenesis- and cytokine-related gene expression over a 16-day culture period supplemented with human transforming growth factor (hTGF)-β1 at 10 ng/ml. In BM-MSC 3D models, a marked upregulation of chondrogenesis-related genes, such as SOX9, COL2A1, and ACAN (all p < 0.05) and formation of spherical pellets with structured type II collagen fibers were observed. Similarly, WJ-based high-density culture appeared higher in size and more regular in shape, with a significant overexpression of COL2A1 and ACAN (all p < 0.05) at day 16. Moreover, a similar upregulation trend was documented for IL-6 and IL-10 expression in both BM and WJ 3D systems. In conclusion, MSC-based high-density cultures can be considered a promising in vitro model of cartilage regeneration and tissue engineering. Moreover, our data support the use of WJ-MSCs as a valid alternative for chondrogenic commitment of stem cells in regenerative medicine.

Treatment of relapsed/refractory or elderly unfit acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still challenging, and hypomethylating agents in combination with venetoclax, an oral selective BCL2 inhibitor, might be successfully used as salvage therapy. However, clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of this combination in the setting of multiresistant AML treatment also as a bridge to transplant are still ongoing. Here, we reported a 50-year-old male diagnosed with AML with normal cytogenetics and wild type for fms-like tyrosine kinase 3, nucleophosmin 1, and KIT, and treated with decitabine and venetoclax as the fifth line of therapy and after a relapse post-allogeneic transplant. The patient achieved a complete remission and successfully underwent a haploidentical transplant with an overall survival of 48.6 months.