Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult stem cells that are able to differentiate into a wide variety of cell types. These cell types include bone, muscle, fat, cartilage, umbilical cord blood, and umbilical cord tissue. The benefits of MSCs are attributed primarily to the secretion of factors including cytokines and growth factors, which produce immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects and stimulate angiogenesis.
The gold standard tissue for mesenchymal stem cells has been bone marrow tissue, however, the results have been mixed and retrieving the stem cells from a patient’s own bone marrow is invasive and can be painful. Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stromal (stem) cells are harvested from umbilical cord tissue and are considered by many regenerative experts to have the most potential for effective cell-based therapy with the added benefit of being far easier and less invasive to retrieve.
Additional Benefits of Wharton’s jelly MSCs
- More abundant than both bone marrow and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells
- Powerful immunomodulatory effects1,2
- Potent anti-inflammatory effects1,2
- High capacity to stimulate angiogenesis1,2
- Increased proliferative capacity3-6, 7-12
- Younger cells
- Protected from damage due to aging, environmental toxins and disease3-6, 13
- Enhanced expression of immune suppression proteins such as leukocyte antigen G6 (HLA-G6)14,15
- More effective following in vitro expansion16-20
- Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have been shown to be negatively impacted by in vitro expansion including shortening of telomere length and increased senescence markers.16-20
- WJ-MSCs show greater potential for neurodegenerative disorders due to increased expression of neurotrophic genes when compare to BM-MSCs.21
Quality Control
Quality control for WJ-MSC should follow specific and highly regulated criteria. Donors should over 18 years of age, healthy and should reach full-term pregnancy. Additionally, the stem cells must be washed, filtered, extracted, concentrated and quantified. Each step requires special training, specialized equipment and specific reagents that are validated using international safety and quality control protocols.
The Stem Cells Transplant Institute follows strict international safety and regulatory protocols to ensure they are providing effective, reproducible, high quality patient care.
Dr. Leslie Mesén, Founder and Chief Medical Officer, received the Health Excellence Award from the IOCIM (Organization of Training and Medical Research) and we are committed to providing therapies that have been shown to be safe and effective.
The Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy at the Stem Cells Transplant Institute
- Accelerate healing
- Reduce pain and inflammation
- Decrease nerve damage
- Increase collagen production
- Help patients avoid surgery
- Generate new heart, blood vessel, muscle, liver, bone, cartilage or brain cell
The Stem Cells Transplant Institute Uses WJ-MSC to Treat:
- Diabetes
- Orthopedic injuries and chronic conditions
- Wounds
- Spinal cord injuries and spinal stenosis
- Traumatic brain injury
- Cardiovascular disease
- Erectile dysfunction
- Some neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis
Scientific References:
- Yang, H. Lin, H. Shen, B. Wang, G. Lei, and R. S. Tuan, “Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular matrix enhances chondrogenic phenotype of and cartilage formation by encapsulated chondrocytes in vitro and in vivo,” Acta Biomaterialia, vol. 69, pp. 71–82, 2018.
- Xu, J. Zhou, J. Liu et al., “Different Angiogenic potentials of mesenchymal stem cells derived from umbilical artery, umbilical vein, and Wharton’s jelly,” Stem Cells International, vol. 2017, Article ID 3175748, 15 pages, 2017.
- V. Paladino, J. S. Peixoto-Cruz, C. Santacruz-Perez, and C. Goldberg, “Comparison between isolation protocols highlights intrinsic variability of human umbilical cord mesenchymal cells,” Cell and Tissue Banking, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 123– 136, 2016.
- Amari, M. Ebtekar, S. M. Moazzeni et al., “Investigation of immunomodulatory properties of human Wharton’s jellyderived mesenchymal stem cells after lentiviral transduction,” Cellular Immunology, vol. 293, no. 2, pp. 59–66, 2015.
- Valencic, E. Piscianz, M. Andolina, A. Ventura, and Tommasini, “The immunosuppressive effect of Wharton’s jelly stromal cells depends on the timing of their licensingand on lymphocyte activation,” Cytotherapy, vol. 12, no. 2, 154–160, 2010.
- B. Choo, L. Tai, K. S. Hymavathee et al., “Oxidative stressinduced premature senescence in Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells,” International Journal of Medical Sciences, vol. 11, no. 11, pp. 1201–1207, 2014.
- Meesuk, C. Tantrawatpan, P. Kheolamai, and S. Manochantr, “The immunosuppressive capacity of human mesenchymal stromal cells derived from amnion and bone marrow,” Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports, vol. 8, pp. 34–40, 2016.
- Manochantr, Y. U-pratya, P. Kheolamai et al., “Immunosuppressive properties of mesenchymal stromal cells derived from amnion, placenta, Wharton’s jelly and umbilical cord,” Internal Medicine Journal, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 430–439, 2013.
- Di Nicola, C. Carlo-Stella, M. Magni et al., “Human bone marrow stromal cells suppress T-lymphocyte proliferation induced by cellular or nonspecific mitogenic stimuli,” Blood, vol. 99, no. 10, pp. 3838–3843, 2002.
- W. Hong, J. H. Lim, C. J. Chung et al., “Immune tolerance of human dental pulp-derived mesenchymal stem cells mediated by CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T-cells and induced by TGF-β1 and IL-10,” Yonsei Medical Journal, vol. 58, no. 5, 1031–1039, 2017.
- Mohammadi Ayenehdeh, B. Niknam, S. Rasouli et al., “Immunomodulatory and protective effects of adipose tissuederived mesenchymal stem cells in an allograft islet composite transplantation for experimental autoimmune type 1 diabetes,” Immunology Letters, vol. 188, pp. 21–31, 2017.
- Luz-Crawford, M. J. Torres, D. Noël et al., “The immunosuppressive signature of menstrual blood mesenchymal stem cells entails opposite effects on experimental arthritis and graft versus host diseases,” Stem Cells, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 456–469, 2016.
- Kalaszczynska and K. Ferdyn, “Wharton’s jelly derived mesenchymal stem cells: future of regenerative medicine? Recent findings and clinical significance,” BioMed Research International, vol. 2015, Article ID 430847, 11 pages, 2015.
- L. Weiss, C. Anderson, S. Medicetty et al., “Immune properties of human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly-derived cells,” Stem Cells, vol. 26, no. 11, pp. 2865–2874, 2008.
- X. Jiang, Y. Zhang, B. Liu et al., “Human mesenchymal stem cells inhibit differentiation and function of monocyte-derived dendritic cells,” Blood, vol. 105, no. 10, pp. 4120–4126, 2005.
- Owen, “Marrow stromal stem cells,” Journal of Cell Science, vol. 1988, Supplement 10, pp. 63–76, 1988.
- Bianco, M. Riminucci, S. Gronthos, and P. G. Robey, “Bone marrow stromal stem cells: nature, biology, and potential applications,” Stem Cells, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 180–192, 2001.
- Arnous, A. Mozid, and A. Mathur, “The bone marrow derived adult stem cells for dilated cardiomyopathy (REGENERATE- DCM) trial: study design,” Regenerative Medicine, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 525–533, 2011.
- [10] A. Bhansali, P. Asokumar, R. Walia et al., “Efficacy and safety of autologous bone marrow-derived stem cell transplantation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized placebo-controlled study,” Cell Transplantation, vol. 23, 9, pp. 1075–1085, 2014.
- [11] R. Pal, N. K. Venkataramana, A. Bansal et al., “Ex vivoexpanded autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells in human spinal cord injury/paraplegia: a pilot clinical study,” Cytotherapy, vol. 11, no. 7, pp. 897–911, 2009.
- Donders, J. F. J. Bogie, S. Ravanidis et al., “Human Wharton’s jelly-derived stem cells display a distinct immunomodulatory and proregenerative transcriptional signature compared to bone marrow-derived stem cells,” Stem Cells and Development, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 65–84, 2018.
