Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells Derived Under Chemically Defined Animal Product-Free Low Oxygen Conditions are Rich in MSCA-1⁺ Subpopulation

Abstract

Aim: Umbilical cord contains, within Wharton’s jelly (WJ), multipotent mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) of fetal origin that can be isolated and expanded in vitro with a minimal manipulation and very high efficiency. Our aim was to develop a highly reproducible protocol that has the unique potential to be scaled up and adapted to cGMP requirements for the use in cellular therapy. Results: We found that derivation of WJ MSCs under defined conditions in low oxygen resulted in several folds higher populations of MSCA-1⁺ cells (6.0–19.2%) when compared with WJ MSCs derived in the presence of serum (0.1–2.8%) or clinical-grade bone marrow (BM) MSCs cultured under atmospheric O₂ (20%). We demonstrate that WJ MSCs derived following our protocol display antiproliferative activity similar to clinical-grade BM MSCs. We also show that these WJ MSCs can be differentiated into adipo-, chondro- and osteo-genic lineages. Conclusion: Easy accessibility, abundance and genetic ‘naivety’ make WJ MSCs logistically a more attractive source for clinical applications than BM MSCs.

Keywords::

• animal product-free culture
• chemically defined condition
• mesenchymal stem cell
• mesenchymal stromal cell
• MSCA-1
• umbilical cord
• Wharton’s jelly

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The study was supported by the studentship to H Badraiq from Saudi Arabia government and a studentship to DK Taheem from Orthopaedic Research UK. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by the studentship to H Badraiq from Saudi Arabia government and a studentship to DK Taheem from Orthopaedic Research UK. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.