title: Assessment of umbilical cord tissue as a source of mesenchymal stem cell/endothelial cell mixtures for bone regeneration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To enumerate and characterize mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) in umbilical cord (UC) tissue digests.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cultured UC cells were characterized phenotypically, and functionally by using 48-gene arrays. Native MSCs and ECs were enumerated using flow cytometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with bone marrow (BM) MSCs, UC MSCs displayed significantly lower (range 4-240-fold) basal levels of bone-related transcripts, but their phenotypes were similar (CD73⁺, CD105⁺, CD90⁺, CD45⁻ and CD31⁻). UC MSCs responded well to osteogenic induction, but day 21 postinduction levels remained below those achieved by BM MSCs. The total yield of native UC MSCs (CD90⁺, CD45⁻ and CD235α⁻) and ECs (CD31⁺, CD45⁻ and CD235α⁻) exceeded 150 and 15 million cells/donation, respectively. Both UC MSCs and ECs expressed CD146.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While BM MSCs are more predisposed to osteogenesis, UC tissue harbors large numbers of MSCs and ECs; such minimally manipulated 'off-the-shelf' cellular mixtures can be used for regenerating bone in patients with compromised vascular supply.
authors.affiliation: Leeds Institute of Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kouroupis
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Churchman
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: English
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Emery
authors.forename: Peter V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Giannoudis
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McGonagle
authors.forename: Elena A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D001861:Bone Regeneration / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016348:Osseointegration / Q000235:genetics; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology*