Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Derived from Human Umbilical Cord Tissues: Primitive Cells with Potential for Clinical and Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem or stromal cells (MSCs) have a high potential for cell-based therapies as well as for tissue engineering applications. Since Friedenstein first isolated stem or precursor cells from the human bone marrow (BM) stroma that were capable of osteogenesis, BM is currently the most common source for MSCs. However, BM presents several disadvantages, namely low frequency of MSCs, high donor-dependent variations in quality, and painful invasive intervention. Thus, tremendous research efforts have been observed during recent years to find alternative sources for MSCs.In this context, the human umbilical cord (UC) has gained more and more attention. Since the UC is discarded after birth, the cells are easily accessible without ethical concerns. This postnatal organ was found to be rich in primitive stromal cells showing typical characteristics of bone-marrow MSCs (BMSCs), e.g., they grow as plastic-adherent cells with a fibroblastic morphology, express a set of typical surface markers, and can be directly differentiated at least along mesodermal lineages. Compared to BM, the UC tissue bears a higher frequency of stromal cells with a higher in vitro expansion potential. Furthermore, immune-privileged and immune-modulatory properties are reported for UC-derived cells, which open highly interesting perspectives for clinical applications.

Differences in Surface Marker Expression and Chondrogenic Potential among Various Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Cells from Elderly Patients with Osteoarthritis

“…Since then, authors have searched for alternative sources of MSCs because of the limited number of MSCs in bone marrow (0.001-0.01%) [Majumdar et al, 2000], the differences among patients and the invasiveness of the current bone marrow collection techniques [Moretti et al, 2010]. Many groups have compared MSCs from bone marrow and other tissues, such as adipose tissue, skin, placenta, thymus, synovium, muscle, heart, umbilical cord and vocal cords [De Ugarte et al, 2003;Musina et al, 2005;Sakaguchi et al, 2005;Wagner et al, 2005;Riekstina et al, 2009;Hanson et al, 2010;Moretti et al, 2010]. It is, therefore, necessary to determine whether MSCs from different tissues have phenotypic and differentiation potentials that are similar to bone marrow-derived MSCs [Gronthos et al, 2001;De Ugarte et al, 2003].…”

Optimization of Culture Conditions for the Expansion of Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem or Stromal Cell-Like Cells Using Xeno-Free Culture Conditions

“…Pioneer works of several groups during the last decade demonstrated that the tissues of the UC harbor MSC populations exhibiting potential for clinical applications (reviewed in Ref. 22 ). Low level of rejection was observed in transplantation studies in animals [23][24][25][26] and first reports strongly suggest that MSC derived from UC display similar immunoprivileged properties 27-29 as described for BMSC.…”

Mesenchymal stem cells and progenitor cells in connective tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: is there a future for transplantation?

“…However, existing data, comparing the differentiation potential of MSC, should be carefully interpreted, as further studies must be performed to elucidate the differentiation capacity of MSC from different sources and to understand the involved pathways and processes [110]. In addition, a detailed understanding of the behavior and homing of MSC in vivo is required before MSC can be considered for clinical applications as safe therapeutics [111].…”