Establishment and characterization of induced pluripotent stem cells from placental mesenchymal stromal cells

Human term placenta is a bulky organ which harbours abundant mesenchymal stromal cells. This study reports isolation and characterization of placental mesenchymal stromal cells (PMSCs) followed by reprogramming of PMSCs to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The placental human iPSC (PhiPSC) line is pluripotent with high telomerase activity, genetically identical to parental PMSCs, transgene free, karyotypically normal and differentiates into ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm both in vitro and in vivo. Thus PMSCs serve as a unique cell type for human perinatal iPSC derivation from extra embryonic tissue.