Umbilical cord as a suitable source of mesenchymal stem cells

The International Journal of Molecular Sciences has published the work of a team of authors from the Center for Tissue and Cell Engineering (CTEF) of the International Clinical Research Center of St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno. In the publication, authors dr. Lenka Tesarova, Klara Jaresova, dr. Pavel Šimara and doc. Irena Koutná presented the umbilical cord as a suitable source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for immunosuppressive clinical applications.

MSCs are a unique tool in somatic cell therapies due to their ability to promote tissue regeneration and suppress the immune system. Compared to bone marrow and adipose tissue, umbilical cord MSCs showed the best expansion potential, while the cells retained their immunosuppressive properties. In addition, these umbilical cord MSCs have been able to utilize the addition of fibroblast growth factor to the expansion medium, which further increases cell yield. In a relatively short time, it is thus possible to obtain a sufficient number of cells for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease or autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, asthma and others. The findings obtained from this study will be used in the manufacture of an investigational medicinal product for advanced therapies in CTEF clean rooms.

The research was supported by the European Regional Development Fund – project CZECRIN_4 PATIENTS (reg. No. CZ.02.1.01 / 0.0 / 0.0 / 16_013 / 0001826).

The article can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/15/5366

dr. Lenka Tesarova