Cytokines produced by cultured human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) cells: Implications for brain repair

The potential therapeutic benefits from human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) cells for the treatment of injuries, diseases, and neurodegeneration are becoming increasingly recognized. The transplantation or infusion of cord blood cells in various animal models, such as ischemia/stroke, traumatic brain injury, myocardial infarction, Parkinson's disease, and amyotropic lateral sclerosis, has resulted in amelioration of behavioral deficits, and with some diseases, a prolonged lifespan decreased neuropathology. Previously, we reported the migration of HUCB cells to ischemic brain supernatant (tissue extracts) is time-dependent, and the expression of specific chemokines responds to this migration pattern. The mechanism(s) responsible for these effects are unknown. The expression of cytokines and chemokines produced by HUCB cells (under various culturing conditions) was investigated in this study. IL-8, MCP-1, and IL-1α were consistently expressed by the HUCB mononuclear cells regardless of the culture condition. These results provide insights to factors that may be partially responsible for the functional improvements seen in the animal models of injury investigating the therapeutic use of HUCB cells.