Isolation and characterization of mesenchymal stem cells from caprine umbilical cord tissue matrix

Cord tissue fills the umbilical cord around the blood vessels and contains types of stem cells (mesenchymal stem cells or MSCs) that are not generally found in cord blood. MSCs are the stem cells that give rise to many of the “support tissues” in the body, including bone, cartilage, fat and muscle. Umbilical Cord Tissue cells (UCTs) possessing the capacity to differentiate into various cell types such as osteoblasts, chondrocytes and adipocytes have been previously isolated from different species including human, canine, murine, avian species etc. The present study documents the existence of similar multipotential stem cells in caprine UCTs having similar growth and morphological characteristics. The cells were isolated from caprine umbilical cord and cultivated in DMEM (low glucose) supplemented with 15% FBS, L-glutamine and antibiotics. Primary culture achieved confluence in 5-7 days having spindle shaped morphology. The cells were morphologically homogeneous, showed robust proliferation ability with a population doubled time of 92.07 h as well as normal karyotype. In vitro self-renewal capacity was demonstrated by colony-forming unit assay (CFU). The cells expressed MSC specific markers and showed multi-differentiation capability into adipogenic and osteogeneic. The results indicated that caprine UCTs (cUCTs) were isolated and characterized from umbilical cord tissue which can be used for tissue regeneration.