Background
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent an archetype of adult multipotent somatic stem cells and a promising tool for application in regenerative medicine. However, researchers do not concur on the best source for expansion and clinical differentiation.
Aim
The current study was performed to evaluate and compare adipose tissue (AT), Wharton's jelly (WJ), and umbilical cord blood (CB) with bone marrow (BM)-MSCs in terms of their morphology and their expansion potentiality using the minimum requirements for growth.
Participants and methods
Mechanical–enzymatic protocol was used for isolation of AT-MSCs and WJ-MSCs, whereas density-gradient separation method and automated cell separator were applied for isolation of BM-MSCs and CB-MSCs, respectively. The isolated cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 media containing fetal bovine serum for 6 days. Then, their phenotypic characterization (CD34, CD133, CD90, and CD105) and their viability (7-aminoactinomycin D) was detected by flow cytometry.
Results
Our results showed that MSCs from the four different sources have similar morphology, the highest percentage of CD34, CD133, and CD90 was found in CB samples, whereas the lowest was for BM samples. While the highest percentage of CD105 was expressed in AT samples and the lowest was also present in BM samples. Finally, the BM-MSCs showed the least liability to be damaged following the handling procedure for separation and culturing, whereas WJ-MSCs were the most injured ones. This may be correlated to the mechanical–enzymatic protocol used for cells' isolation.
Conclusion
Although BM and AT specimen collection involves painful procedures, being autologous makes them safe and feasible candidates for therapeutic future applications.