The MSCs in umbilical cord are able to minimize GvHD of in directed and unrelated allogenic cord blood transplants. In addition, MSCs are multi-potential cells which can further differentiate into various tissue cells and applied to chronic illnesses treatment, development of regenerative medicines as well as organ and tissue engineering.
At present, over 300* clinical trials are conducting using MSCs, including stroke, spinal cord injury, diabetes and bone fractures etc
Researches showed that MSCs can be induced to iPS (Induced Pluripotent Stem) cells1, which have greater differentiation capacity than Epithelial stem cells (EpSCs) and it can be directly differentiated into EpSCs2. Thus, MSCs already have the same ability of EpSCs and even more powerful, i.e. formation of various epithelial cells3 and with the same medical application for treating acute burn and diabetic foot etc.
How are umbilical cord stem cells different from cord blood stem cells?
Umbilical cord is a rich source of MSCs which can create structural and connective tissues, while cord blood is a rich source of HSCs which can create the blood immune system. Since cord blood and umbilical cord are rich sources of different types of stem cells, they may help to repair the body in different ways.
The First Cord Blood Bank Adopting MSCs Retrieval Techniques
HealthBaby pioneered to adopt the professional MSCs retrieval techniques from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2008. MSCs Laboratory complied with "Good Tissue Practice" requirements, installed with clean room to ensure sample processing and storage meeting international quality standard. HealthBaby adopts sealed multi-partition freezing bag for MSCs storage to eradicate cross-contamination. MSCs culturing service conducted by experienced expertise is available upon request.
MSCs can be induced to various kinds of epithelial cells and have the same medical application of EpSCs*, thus storing the differentiated EpSCs at unreasonable high cost is unnecessary. Storing of unprocessed cord tissue showed no medical application evidence meanwhile.
Besides, even though some cord blood banks mislead clients that cryovials can provide multiple use of MSCs, while it would cause cross-contamination and has been rejected by AABB for years.
*EpSCs: Epithelial stem cells
The merits of umbilical cord
| 1. | Minimize Graft-Versus-Host-Disease (GvHD) after cord blood transplantation |
| 2. | Regulate immune system |
| 3. | Repair damaged tissues and organs |
| 4. | Help treating chronic diseases such as arthritis, bone fracture etc |
| 5. | Have capability in vitro expansion |
| 6. | Gene stability |
| Item | No. of MSCs /200 milllion TNCs |
|---|---|
| Umbilical Cord | 600,600 units |
| Adult Bone Marrow | 200 units |
| Cord Blood | 100 units |
Sources:
- Purified Mesenchymal Stem Cells Are Efficient Source for IPS Cell Induction, PLoS ONE, Vol. 6 Issue 3, Mar 2011
- Generation of stratified squamous epithelial progenitor cells from mouse induced pluripotent stem cells,
Epub 2011 Dec 9 - Transitions between epithelial and mesenchymal states and the morphogenesis of the early mouse embryo,
Cell Adhesion & Migration 4:3 447-457, 2010 Landes Bioscience
