Abstract
The benefits attributed to mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) in cell therapy applications are mainly attributed to the secretion of factors, which exhibit immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects and stimulate angiogenesis. Despite the desirable features such as high proliferation levels, multipotency, and immune response regulation, there are important variables that must be considered. Although presenting similar morphological aspects, MSC collected from different tissues can form heterogeneous cellular populations and, therefore, manifest functional differences. Thus, the source of MSC should be a factor to be considered in the development of novel therapies. The following text presents an updated review of recent research outcomes related to Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (WJ-MSC), harvested from umbilical cords and considered novel and potential candidates for the development of cell-based approaches. This text highlights information on how WJ-MSC affect immune responses in comparison with other sources of MSC.
Highlights
Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) are increasingly viewed as sources of cell therapy applications due to their known immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects and capacity to stimulate angiogenesis
Wharton’s jelly: (i) subamnion (ii) intervascular region (iii) perivascular region cells; (b) the intervascular region, a matrix of connective tissue predominantly made from collagen I, which concentrates the greatest proportion of Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (WJ-MSC); and (c) the perivascular layer that surrounds the umbilical vessels (Figure 1) [2, 3]
The “gold standard” bone marrow-derived MSC (BM-MSC) are the most used in clinical trials but have shown mixed results [7,8,9,10,11,12]
Summary
Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) are increasingly viewed as sources of cell therapy applications due to their known immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects and capacity to stimulate angiogenesis. The source of MSC should be a factor to be considered in the development of novel therapies. The following text presents an updated review of recent research outcomes related to Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (WJ-MSC), harvested from umbilical cords and considered novel and potential candidates for the development of cell-based therapies. This text highlights information on how WJ-MSC affect immune responses in comparison with other sources of MSC. Some of the challenges to be addressed in order to overcome hurdles associated with the therapeutic application of these cells are included
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