Isolation and characterisation of mesenchymal stem cells in Wharton's jelly of the human umbilical cord: potent cells for cell-based therapies in paediatric surgery?

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are known to have the ability to differentiate into various lineages of mesenchymal tissue. They are widely distributed in a variety of tissues in the adult human body and are also present in the foetal environment. However, MSC do only attribute for a rare population in these tissues. In this study we have evaluated the possibility of MSC or cells with MSC-like potency being present in the umbilical cord (UC). METHODS: Term UC was collected and stored in sterile, saline solution. Upon preparation, the UC was cut into segments of 1 cm length, the vessels were striped manually and the tissue immersed in an enzyme cocktail for 3 h at 37 °C. Isolated umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSC) were extracted by low-speed centrifugation, suspended and cultured. RESULTS: (1) It was possible to isolate UCMSC in sufficient quantities and (2) the cells could be cultured easily. (3) The cells obtained from our experiments demonstrated a fibroblast-like phenotype. (4) They could expand when cultured and induced to differentiate into several different types of cells. (5) The cells were found to express mesenchymal markers (CD13, CD105) but not haematopoetic lineage markers (CD14 and CD34). CONCLUSIONS: Our observations confirmed that MSC are present in the human UC in sufficient quantity for isolation. This tissue should be considered a valuable resource for cell-based therapies, especially in paediatric surgery.