Optimization and scale-up of Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells for clinical applications

MSCs are promising candidates for stem cell therapy and regenerative medicine. Umbilical cord is the easiest obtainable biological source of MSCs and the Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord is a rich source of fetus-derived stem cells. However, the use of MSCs for therapeutic application is based on their subsequent large-scale in vitro expansion. A fast and efficient protocol for generation of large quantities of MSCs is required to meet the clinical demand and biomedical research needs. Here we have optimized conditions for scaling up of WJ-MSCs. Low seeding density along with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) supplementation in the growth medium, which is DMEM-KO, resulted in propagation of more than 1x108 cells within a time period of 15 days from a single umbilical cord. The upscaled WJ-MSCs retained their differentiation potential and immunosuppressive capacity. They expressed the typical hMSC surface antigens and the addition of bFGF in the culture medium did not affect the expression levels of HLA-DR and CD 44. A normal karyotype was confirmed in the large-scale expanded WJ-MSCs. Hence, in this study we attempted rapid clinical-scale expansion of WJ-MSCs which would allow these fetus-derived stem cells to be used for various allogeneic cell-based transplantations and tissue engineering.