Project description:Human Wharton’s jelly stem cells (hWJSCs) are derived ethically in large amounts from the umbilical cord matrix. Besides their differentiation capabilities, WJSCs also display a notable lack of ability to form teratoma. hWJSCs have been shown to exert immunomodulatory effects and have recently been reported to kill or diminish cancer cell growth. These characteristics are important considerations for their use in cell therapy. In this transcriptome analysis, hWJSCs were profiled using Affymetrix DNA microarrays and compared to a panel of human stem cells and stromal cells. Although hWJSCs are multipotent, they expressed very low levels of the majority of stem cell markers, including POU5F1, NANOG, SOX2 and LIN28. BIRC5 has recently been shown to be required for teratoma formation in SCID mice. The lower levels of BIRC5 expression in hWJSCs compared to hESCs and the very low levels of stem cell markers might account for hWJSCs inability to form teratomas. IL12A which is known to be associated with the induction of apoptosis, was amongst the several cytokines identified to be significantly upregulated in hWJSCs. The ability of hWJSCs to compliment the host immune responses was further highlighted with the GO Biological Process analysis showing high association with immune system, chemotaxis and cell death. The ability to modulate immune responses confers hWJSCs an additional advantage in stem cell therapy and potentially allows hWJSCs as a form of treatment for cancer and immune disorders. In summary, the transcriptome profile of hWJSCs has provided indications on the genetic basis for their biological characteristics in immunomodulatory response, anti-cancer effects, and the lack of teratoma formation. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Project description:Human Wharton’s jelly stem cells (hWJSCs) are derived ethically in large amounts from the umbilical cord matrix. Besides their differentiation capabilities, WJSCs also display a notable lack of ability to form teratoma. hWJSCs have been shown to exert immunomodulatory effects and have recently been reported to kill or diminish cancer cell growth. These characteristics are important considerations for their use in cell therapy. In this transcriptome analysis, hWJSCs were profiled using Affymetrix DNA microarrays and compared to a panel of human stem cells and stromal cells. Although hWJSCs are multipotent, they expressed very low levels of the majority of stem cell markers, including POU5F1, NANOG, SOX2 and LIN28. BIRC5 has recently been shown to be required for teratoma formation in SCID mice. The lower levels of BIRC5 expression in hWJSCs compared to hESCs and the very low levels of stem cell markers might account for hWJSCs inability to form teratomas. IL12A which is known to be associated with the induction of apoptosis, was amongst the several cytokines identified to be significantly upregulated in hWJSCs. The ability of hWJSCs to compliment the host immune responses was further highlighted with the GO Biological Process analysis showing high association with immune system, chemotaxis and cell death. The ability to modulate immune responses confers hWJSCs an additional advantage in stem cell therapy and potentially allows hWJSCs as a form of treatment for cancer and immune disorders. In summary, the transcriptome profile of hWJSCs has provided indications on the genetic basis for their biological characteristics in immunomodulatory response, anti-cancer effects, and the lack of teratoma formation.
Project description:Human Wharton’s jelly stem cells (hWJSCs) are derived ethically in large amounts from the umbilical cord matrix. Besides their differentiation capabilities, WJSCs also display a notable lack of ability to form teratoma. hWJSCs have been shown to exert immunomodulatory effects and have recently been reported to kill or diminish cancer cell growth. These characteristics are important considerations for their use in cell therapy. In this transcriptome analysis, hWJSCs were profiled using Affymetrix DNA microarrays and compared to a panel of human stem cells and stromal cells. Although hWJSCs are multipotent, they expressed very low levels of the majority of stem cell markers, including POU5F1, NANOG, SOX2 and LIN28. BIRC5 has recently been shown to be required for teratoma formation in SCID mice. The lower levels of BIRC5 expression in hWJSCs compared to hESCs and the very low levels of stem cell markers might account for hWJSCs inability to form teratomas. IL12A which is known to be associated with the induction of apoptosis, was amongst the several cytokines identified to be significantly upregulated in hWJSCs. The ability of hWJSCs to compliment the host immune responses was further highlighted with the GO Biological Process analysis showing high association with immune system, chemotaxis and cell death. The ability to modulate immune responses confers hWJSCs an additional advantage in stem cell therapy and potentially allows hWJSCs as a form of treatment for cancer and immune disorders. In summary, the transcriptome profile of hWJSCs has provided indications on the genetic basis for their biological characteristics in immunomodulatory response, anti-cancer effects, and the lack of teratoma formation.
Project description:Human Wharton’s jelly stem cells (hWJSCs) are multipotent stem cells extensively employed in biotechnology applications and can be differentiated into distinct lineages through various culture approaches. However, the impact of simulated microgravity (sμG) on the growth, differentiation, and viability of this cell population is incompletely characterized. We aimed to determine whether acute (72 hour) exposure to lunar sμG (0.16 G) elicited changes in growth, viability and lineage differentiation in hWJSCs and if putative changes were maintained once exposure to terrestrial gravity (1.0G) was restored. Our data support earlier findings that acute sμG significantly reduces cell division potential of hWJSCs, and suggest that actute sμG-exposure induces reversible changes in cell growth accompanied by osteocyte – chondrocyte changes in lineage differentiation.
Project description:Human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly stem cells (WHJSC) are gaining attention as a possible clinical source of mesenchymal stem cells for use in cell therapy and tissue engineering due to their high accessibility, expansion potential and plasticity. However, the cell viability changes that are associated to sequential cell passage of these cells are not known. In this analysis, we have identified the gene expression changes that are associated to cell passage in WHJSC. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression underlying cell passage on WHJSC. Total RNA was isolated from three different samples corresponding to cell cultures of three different individuals at each cell passage (P1 to P10) of WHJSC.
Project description:Human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly stem cells (WHJSC) are gaining attention as a possible clinical source of mesenchymal stem cells for use in cell therapy and tissue engineering due to their high accessibility, expansion potential and plasticity. However, the cell viability changes that are associated to sequential cell passage of these cells are not known. In this analysis, we have identified the gene expression changes that are associated to cell passage in WHJSC. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression underlying cell passage on WHJSC.
Project description:Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising tools for the treatment of diseases such as infarcted myocardia and strokes because of their ability to promote endogenous angiogenesis and neurogenesis via a variety of secreted factors. MSCs found in the Wharton's jelly of the human umbilical cord are easily obtained and are capable of transplantation without rejection. We isolated MSCs from Wharton’s jelly and bone marrow (WJ-MSCs and BM-MSCs, respectively) and compared their transcriptional profiles.
Project description:To explore differences between native MSCs (nMSCs) and iPSC-derived MSCs (iMSCs), we developed isogeneic lines from Wharton’s Jelly (WJ) from the umbilical cords of two donors (#12 and #13) under xeno-free conditions. Next, we reprogrammed them into iPSCs (iPSC12 and iPSC13) and subsequently differentiated them back into iMSCs (iMSC12 and iMSC13) using two different protocols, which we named ARG and TEX. As an additional control, we used human embryonic stem cell line KCL034 to differentiate the cells into eMSC following ARG and TEX protocols. We assessed IFNG-induced changes in all lines. Our data suggest that, following a careful selection and screening of donors, nMSCs from umbilical’s cord WJ can be easily reprogrammed into iPSCs providing an unlimited source of material for differentiation into iMSCs. However, the differentiation protocol should be chosen depending on their clinical use.
Project description:Wharton’s jelly derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) isolated from newborns with intrauterine fetal growth restriction were previously shown to exert anabolic features including insulin hypersensitivity. Here, we extend these observations and demonstrate that MSCs from small for gestational age (SGA) individuals have decreased mitochondrial oxygen consumption rates. Comparing normally grown and SGA MSCs using next generation sequencing studies, we measured global transcriptomic and epigenetic profiles and identified in SGA, E2F1 as an over-expressed transcription factor regulating oxidative metabolism. We further show that E2F1 regulates the differential transcriptome found in SGA and is associated with the activating histone marks H3K27ac and H3K4me3. One of the key genes regulated by E2F1 was found to be the fatty acid elongase ELOVL2, a gene involved in the endogenous synthesis of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).