“Biological drug”:mesenchymal stem cells derived from umbilical cord

GAO Lianru

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2095-3097.2016.04.001

Abstract：Cell-based treatment represents a new generation in the evolution of biological therapeutics. Mesenchymal stem cells ( MSCs) are mesoderm-derived multipotent stromal cells that reside in embryonic and adult tissues. The use of adult MSCs is limited by the quality and quantity of host stem cells. Wharton’s jelly of the umbilical cord originates from the extraembryonic and/or the embryonic mesoderm at day 13 of embryonic development. Using Affymetrix GeneChip microarray and functional network analyses, we found for the first time that Wharton’s jelly-derived MSCs ( WJMSCs) , except for their expression of stemness molecular markers in common with human ESCs ( hESCs) , exhibited a high expression of early cardiac transcription factor genes and could be in-duced to differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells. Further, we demonstrated for the first time that intracoronary delivery of prepared clinical-grade WJMSCs was safe in treating patients with an ST-AMI attack by double-blind, randomized controlled trial and could significantly improve myocardial viability and heart function. It is therefore important to consider the benefits of WJMSCs, which are not ethically sensitive, have differentiation potential, and do not have the worrying issue of teratoma formation. Moreover, as the off the shelf product, WJMSCs can be applied immediately, and on de-mand. Thus, WJMSCs constitute a true stem cell population and are promising cells as a biological drug for stem cell-based therapies.