Compared to the amniotic membrane, Wharton's jelly may be a more suitable source of mesenchymal stem cells for cardiovascular tissue engineering and clinical regeneration.
The success of developing cardiovascular tissue engineering (CTE) grafts greatly needs a readily available cell substitute for endothelial and interstitial cells. Perinatal annexes have been proposed as a valuable source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the potential of human Wharton's jelly MSCs (WJ-MSCs) and amniotic membrane MSCs (AM-MSCs) as a seeding cell in CTE and cardiovascular regenerative medicine.



WJ-MSCs/AM-MSCs were isolated and characterized in vitro according to their morphology, proliferation, self-renewal, phenotype, and multipotency. More importantly, the characteristics of hemocompatibility, extracellular matrix deposition, and gene expression and viability of both MSCs were investigated.



Fibroblast-like human WJ-MSCs and AM-MSCs were successfully isolated and positively expressed the characteristic markers CD73, CD90, and CD105 but were negative for CD34, CD45, and HLA-DR. Both MSCs shared trilineage differentiation toward the adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic lineages. The proliferative and self-renewal capacity of WJ-MSCs was significantly higher than that of AM-MSCs (P < 0.001). WJ-MSCs provided comparable properties of antiplatelet adhesion and did not activate the coagulation cascade to endothelial cells. However, aggregated platelets were visualized on the surface of AM-MSCs-derived cell sheets and the intrinsic pathway was activated. Furthermore, WJ-MSCs have superior properties of collagen deposition and higher viability than AM-MSCs during cell sheet formation.



This study highlights that WJ-MSCs could act as a functional substitute of endothelial and interstitial cells, which could serve as an appealing and practical single-cell source for CTE and regenerative therapy.
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Lei
L
Pu
Central Laboratory, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Mingyao
M
Meng
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.|Cardiovascular Surgery Institute of Yunnan, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Jian
J
Wu
Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, 374, Dianmian Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Jing
J
Zhang
Central Laboratory, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Zongliu
Z
Hou
Central Laboratory, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Hui
H
Gao
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Hui
H
Xu
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Boyu
B
Liu
Central Laboratory, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Weiwei
W
Tang
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China. jianglihong_yayy@163.com.|Cardiovascular Surgery Institute of Yunnan, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China. jianglihong_yayy@163.com.|First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, 157, Jinbi Road, Kunming, Yunnan, People's Republic of China. jianglihong_yayy@163.com.
Lihong
L
Jiang
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming Medical University, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China. liyaxiong62@aliyun.com.|Cardiovascular Surgery Institute of Yunnan, 245, East of Renmin Road, Kunming, 650051, Yunnan, People's Republic of China. liyaxiong62@aliyun.com.
Yaxiong
Y
Li
D015720:5'-Nucleotidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017667:Adipocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D000650:Amnion / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002450:Cell Communication; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002469:Cell Separation; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D000071063:Endoglin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D015539:Platelet Activation; D010974:Platelet Aggregation; D011247:Pregnancy; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D059631:Wharton Jelly / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism
D015415:Biomarkers; C064206:ENG protein, human; D000071063:Endoglin; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens; D015720:5'-Nucleotidase; C548241:NT5E protein, human
Amniotic membrane; Cardiovascular; Mesenchymal stem cells; Regenerative medicine; Tissue engineering; Wharton’s jelly