Expression of epithelial markers by human umbilical cord stem cells. A topographical analysis

•We analyze the expression of epithelial markers.•We found different cytokeratin expression patterns in 4 different zones of the umbilical cord.•Wharton's jelly zone cells could be intrinsically committed to epithelial lineage.

IntroductionHuman umbilical cord stem cells have inherent differentiation capabilities and potential usefulness in regenerative medicine. However, the epithelial differentiation capability and the heterogeneity of these cells have not been fully explored to the date.MethodsWe analyzed the expression of several undifferentiation and epithelial markers in cells located in situ in different zones of the umbilical cord -in situ analysis- and in primary ex vivo cell cultures of Wharton's jelly stem cells by microarray and immunofluorescence.ResultsOur results demonstrated that umbilical cord cells were heterogeneous and had intrinsic capability to express in situ stem cell markers, CD90 and CD105 and the epithelial markers cytokeratins 3, 4, 7, 8, 12, 13, 19, desmoplakin and zonula occludens 1 as determined by microarray and immunofluorescence, and most of these markers remained expressed after transferring the cells from the in situ to the ex vivo cell culture conditions. However, important differences were detected among some cell types in the umbilical cord, with subvascular zone cells showing less expression of stem cell markers and cells in Wharton's jelly and the amnioblastic zones showing the highest expression of stem cells and epithelial markers.ConclusionsThese results suggest that umbilical cord mesenchymal cells have intrinsic potential to express relevant epithelial markers, and support the idea that they could be used as alternative cell sources for epithelial tissue engineering.