Title:Myogenic Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells - the Case of Adhesive Fraction of Human Umbilical Cord Blood Cells
VOLUME: 8 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Iwona Grabowska, Wladyslawa Streminska, Katarzyna Janczyk-Ilach, Eugeniusz K. Machaj, Zygmunt Pojda, Grazyna Hoser, Jerzy Kawiak, Jerzy Moraczewski, Maria A. Ciemerych and Edyta Brzoska
Affiliation:Department of Cytology, Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Ilji Miecznikowa 1, 02-096 Warsaw, Poland
Keywords:Human umbilical cord blood, mesenchymal stem cells, myogenesis, regeneration, myoblasts, macrophages, myogenic differentiation, hematopoietic stem cells.
Abstract:Different sources of stem cells are considered as a potential source of precursor cells that could improve skeletal
muscle regeneration. Under physiological conditions muscle regeneration is based on the satellite cells, i.e. adult muscle
precursor cells that are localized between muscle fiber and surrounding basal lamina. These cells remain quiescent but
after skeletal muscle injury activate, proliferate, differentiate, and fuse either to form new muscle fibers or reconstruct the
damaged ones. As it was shown in many studies few populations of stem cells other than satellite cells are able to support
skeletal muscle regeneration. Among them are mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are present in many niches within
adult organism and also in fetal tissues, such as human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) or umbilical cord connective tissue,
i.e. Wharton’s jelly. Thus, MSCs are intensively tested to prove that they are able to differentiate into various cell types,
including skeletal myoblasts, and therefore could be useful in regenerative medicine. In our previous study we showed
that MSCs isolated from Wharton’s jelly expressed pluripotency as well as myogenic markers and were able to undergo
myogenic differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. We also analyzed the potential of HUCB cells population which contains
not only MSCs but also hematopoietic precursors. Our analyses of whole population of HUCB cells showed that
these cells express myogenic regulatory factors, i.e. MyoD, and are able to contribute to skeletal muscle regeneration. In
the present study we document that adherent fraction of HUCB cells, i.e. the cells that constitute the subpopulation enriched
in MSCs, expresses pluripotency and myogenic markers, and have a positive impact at the regeneration of injured
mouse skeletal muscle.
