Discarded Wharton jelly of the human umbilical cord: a viable source for mesenchymal stromal cells.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multi-potent cells that have the capability of differentiating into adipogenic, osteogenic, chondrogenic and neural cells. With these multiple capabilities, MSCs have been highly regarded as an effective transplantable cell source for regenerative medicine. A large bank of these cells can be found in several regions of the human umbilical cord, including the umbilical cord lining, the subendothelial layer, the perivascular zone and, most important, in Wharton jelly (WJ). These cells, all umbilical cord-derived MSCs, are durable, have large loading capacities and are considered ethical to harvest because the umbilical cord is often considered waste. These logistical advantages make WJ as appealing source of stem cells for transplant therapy. In particular, WJ is a predominantly good source of cells because MSCs in WJ are maintained in an early embryologic phase and therefore have retained some of the primitive stemness properties. WJ-MSCs can easily differentiate into a plethora of cell types leading to a variety of applications. In addition, WJ-MSCs are slightly easier to harvest compared with other MSCs (such as bone marrow-derived MSCs). The fascinating stemness properties and therapeutic potential of WJ-MSCs provide great promise in many aspects of regenerative medicine and should be considered for further investigations as safe and effective donor cells for transplantation therapy in many debilitating disorders, which are discussed here. We previously reviewed the therapeutic potential of WJ-MSCs and now provide an update on their recent preclinical and clinical applications.

Delayed Umbilical Cord Blood Clamping: First Line of Defense Against Neonatal and Age-Related Disorders.

The aging body is unable to maintain homeostasis in cell genesis and function. Stem cell-based regenerative medicine may reverse aging and treat age-related disorders. This perspective article discusses the therapeutic effects of stem cell transplantation on neonatal diseases, which may have long-lasting benefits affecting even the aging process. In particular, the article highlights the potential of the earliest transfer of stem cells between a mother and fetus via the umbilical cord during child birth and how this process may modify the clinical practice of umbilical cord clamping. While such umbilical cord clamping is routinely performed in an expeditious manner after birth for stem cell banking, the present article advances the concept that a delay in clamping the umbilical cord may actually allow more stem cells to be delivered from the mother to the fetus. The authors' overarching hypothesis is that early umbilical cord clamping results in an artificial loss of stem cells at birth and increases the infant's susceptibility to both neonatal and age-related diseases, while delaying umbilical cord clamping is perhaps the most effective and non-invasive way to transplant stem cells in order to treat these diseases.