title: Human umbilical cord provides a significant source of unexpanded mesenchymal stromal cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have considerable potential for cell-based therapies, including applications for regenerative medicine and immune suppression in graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). However, harvesting cells from the human body can cause iatrogenic disorders and in vitro expansion of MSC carries a risk of tumorigenesis and/or expansion of unexpected cell populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Given these problems, we have focused on umbilical cord, a tissue obtained with few ethical problems that contains significant numbers of MSC. We have developed a modified method to isolate MSC from umbilical cord, and investigated their properties using flow cytometry, mRNA analysis and an in vivo GvHD model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our study demonstrates that, using umbilical cord, large numbers of MSC can be safely obtained using a simple procedure without in vitro expansion, and these non-expanded MSC have the potential to suppress GvHD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that the combined banking of umbilical cord-derived MSC and identical cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cell banking, where strict inspection of the infectious disease status of donors is performed, as well as further benefits of HLA-matched mesenchymal cells, could become one of the main sources of cells for cell-based therapy against various disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Akie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kikuchi-Taura
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taguchi
authors.forename: Takayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kasahara
authors.forename: Haruka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Iori
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakagomi
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamahara
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soma
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000628:therapy; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C486780:NANOG protein, human; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; C494173:POU5F1 protein, human; C527782:SOX2 protein, human; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors