Wharton's jelly derived mesenchymal stem cells: regenerative medicine beyond umbilical cord blood

s / Placenta 32 (2011) S326–S340 S339 During pregnancy the embryo and placental cells differentiate and promote several changes related with the normal development. During these processes, a coordinated distribution of collagens and glycoproteins were observed in different compartment of the placenta, as well in the artificial tissues construction. The morphogenesis of the placental in mammals is associated with the presences of several ECM molecules, distributed with temporal-spaces differences. Similar changes were observed in the artificial construct. The knowledge of the ECM and their relationship with the cells may be useful to understanding the cells microenvironment in artificial tissue construction. doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2011.07.073 WHARTON'S JELLY DERIVED MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS: REGENERATIVE MEDICINE BEYOND UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD R.R. Taghizadeh , K.E. Pollok , M. Betancur , L. Boissel , K.J. Cetrulo , T. Marino , A. Wolfberg , H.G. Klingemann , C.L. Cetrulo a AuxoCell, Inc., Boston, MA, USA; Herman B. Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Molecular Oncology Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; Obstetrics & Gynecology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA Umbilical cord blood (UCB) has been used as a source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for the transplantation of over 10,000 patients worldwide for the treatment of various diseases and malignancies. However, since UCB contains a finite number of mononuclear cells (MNCs), the likelihood of reaching a target total nucleated cell (TNC) dose is reduced drastically as the patient increases with age and weight. The result of low pre-transplant cell dose is delayed hematopoietic reconstitution, increased time-to-leukocyte recovery, increased likelihood of infections, and increased overall transplant-related morbidity/ mortality. Novel approaches to overcome this limitation in UCB transplantations include multiple-unit transplantations and technologies to expand HSCs ex vivo. However, these approaches have not resulted in significant improvements in patient morbidity/mortality primarily due to complications, including increased graft-vs.-host disease (GvHD) outcomes and the lack of successful clinical demonstrations. One promising approach that has not been fully explored is co-transplantation of UCB-HSCs with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from the Wharton's Jelly (WJ) of the umbilical cord (UC). We co-transplanted 106 mononuclear UCB cells with 104 or 105 WJ-MSCs in sublethally irradiated NOD/SCID-IL2R-g-null mice and observed a 3.5and 6.0-, respective, fold increase in human CD45 expression in the bone marrow of transplanted mice, when compared to 106 mononuclear UCB cells transplanted alone. This data suggests a role for WJ-MSCs in UCB transplantation, allowing current UCB units that do not meet the minimum criteria for transplantation (based on TNC dose), to be effective for pediatric, and even possibly, adult patients. doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2011.07.074 ROLE OF HUMAN AMNIOTIC STROMAL CELLS IN SPINAL CORD INJURY REPAIR S. Venkatachalam, S. Neelamegan, K. Chandrashekar Department of Anatomy, Dr. A.L.M. Postgraduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Madras, Taramani Campus, Chennai 600113, India Amniotic stromal cells were reported to possess stem cell features. To evaluate their potentials in treating spinal cord injury, human amniotic stromal cells were transplanted in contusive spinal cord injury model of rats. These cells were isolated through collagenase treatment of amniotic membranes which were previously denuded of epithelial cells by trypsinization. Using standard osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic induction methods, multi-lineage differentiation capacity of the isolated cells were confirmed. Results were evaluated using behavioral, histological and histochemical methods. Either human mitochondrial antibody or PKH 27 labeling of transplanted cells was used to identify surviving cells. Transplanted human amniotic stromal cells were found to survive in rat spinal cord for about 4 – 8weeks without immune suppression and did not form any tumor. However, they did not cause improved functional recovery when compared with lesion group animals. Histochemical staining indicated the deposition of collagenous material at the transplantation site which might indicate the aberrant differentiation of transplanted cells towards osteo/chondrogenic lineage. A similar observation had been made earlier with rat amniotic stromal cells when used in spinal cord injury. Therefore, inducing amniotic stromal cells to take neural lineage prior to their transplantation may be necessary to ensure proper differentiation. Further studies are required to verify the potential of these cells in treating spinal cord injury. doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2011.07.075 CHARACTERIZATION AND EVALUATION OF FETAL STEM CELLS USED FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING B. Weber , S.M. Zeisberger , S.P. Hoerstrup a,b Department of Surgical Research and Clinic for Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland; b Swiss Center for Regenerative Medicine, University and University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland With regard to cardiovascular applications of the tissue engineering concept, several groups have demonstrated the principal feasibility to create functional living heart valves, blood vessels, and myocardial structures using autologous cell systems and rapidly degrading scaffold materials. In today's cardiovascular clinical scenario, the highest medical need for a tissue engineering solution is in the field of pediatric applications treating congenital heart disease. In this context, the introduction of a living, growing replacement such as e.g. a tissue engineered heart valve made of the babies’ own cells would substantially reduce today's severe therapeutic limitations, which are mainly due to the need for repeat reoperations to adapt the current artificial prostheses to the somatic growth of the young patients. However, these reoperations are associated with substantial morbidity as well as mortality. Ideally, the cells to be used for babies with congenital heart disease normally detected by prenatal ultrasound around week 20 can be obtained already during pregnancy to provide the time for the tissue engineering process prior to birth. In recent in vitro studies we have demonstrated the feasibility to use various human fetal stem cells for tissue engineering of heart valves. In particular, amniotic fluid and chorionic villi-derived cells have shown promising potential for the clinical realization of the congenital tissue engineering approach. Based on these results, the objective of our current research is to systematically investigate and to validate fetal stem cells with regard to their potential for tissue engineering applications. doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2011.07.076 IMMUNOMODULATORYEFFECTSOFPLACENTA-DERIVEDMULTIPOTENT CELLS TOWARDS LYMPHOCYTES OF THE INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM B. Yen, C. Chang, K. Liu, C. Wang, H. Sytwu Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Institute of Cellular & System Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan Current sources of human stem cells include embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and adult stem cells (ASCs). However, concerns exist with either source: ESCs, with its significant ethical considerations, tumorigenicity concerns, and paucity of cell lines; and ASCs, which are possibly more limited in proliferative and differentiation potential. Thus, the search continues for an ethically conducive, easily accessible, and high-yielding source of stem