title: Wharton's Jelly Mesenchymal Stromal Cells as a Feeder Layer for the Ex Vivo Expansion of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells: a Review.
abstract: In recent years, umbilical cord blood (UCB) has been widely used as an alternative source to bone marrow (BM) for transplantation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in a variety of hematological and non-hematological disorders. Nevertheless, the insufficient number of UCB-HSPCs for graft represents a major challenge. HSPCs ex vivo expansion prior to transplantation is a valid strategy to overcome this limit. Several attempts to optimize the expansion conditions have been reported, including the use of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) as feeder layer. Wharton's Jelly (WJ), the main component of umbilical cord (UC) matrix, is especially rich in MSCs, which are considered ideal candidates for feeder layer in co-culture systems. In fact, they can be easily harvested and grow robustly in culture, producing a confluent monolayer in a short time. Similarly to bone marrow-mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs), WJ-derived MSCs (WJ-MSCs) have been used to support hematopoiesis in vitro and in vivo. Here, we review the rationale for using MSCs, particularly WJ-MSCs, as a feeder layer for UCB-HSPCs ex vivo expansion. In addition, we report the main findings attesting the use of these MSCs as a support in hematopoiesis.
authors.affiliation: Campus of Hematology F. and P. Cutino, Villa Sofia-Cervello Hospital, Palermo, Italy.|Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology (IEMEST), Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Melania
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lo Iacono
authors.affiliation: Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology (IEMEST), Palermo, Italy.|Department of Surgical, Oncological and Stomatological Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Anzalone
authors.affiliation: Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology (IEMEST), Palermo, Italy. giampylr@hotmail.com.|Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy. giampylr@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Giampiero
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1334-5054
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: La Rocca
authors.affiliation: Campus of Hematology F. and P. Cutino, Villa Sofia-Cervello Hospital, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baiamonte
authors.affiliation: Campus of Hematology F. and P. Cutino, Villa Sofia-Cervello Hospital, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Aurelio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maggio
authors.affiliation: Campus of Hematology F. and P. Cutino, Villa Sofia-Cervello Hospital, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Santina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Acuto
mesh_terms: D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D018920:Coculture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D061252:Feeder Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D059631:Wharton Jelly / Q000166:cytology*
keywords: Bone marrow transplantation; Ex vivo expansion; Feeder layer; Hematopoietic and progenitor stem cells; Umbilical cord blood transplantation; Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stromal cells