title: Therapeutic potential of human umbilical cord-derived stem cells in ischemic diseases.
abstract: Recent advances suggest human umbilical cord is a new source for stem cells. Our laboratory has established a method to readily isolate and expand stem cells from human umbilical cord tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of human umbilical cord-derived stem (UCDS) cells in ischemic diseases. The UCDS cells were characterized by flow cytometry and differentiation into osteogenic and adipogenic cells. Unilateral hind limb ischemia was surgically induced by femoral artery ligation in nude mice. The animals were intramuscularly injected with 10(6) UCDS cells or control phosphate-buffered saline. Blood perfusion of ischemic limbs was detected by laser Doppler perfusion imaging. Transplantation of UCDS cells to the ischemic limbs of nude mice significantly improved the blood flow to the affected limbs. Thus, transplantation of UCDS cells may potentially be a promising treatment for human ischemic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Cardiac Center, Department of Surgery, Cardiovascular Institute and Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: X M
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Z C
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014470:Umbilical Cord