Isolation And Characterization Of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells With Hematopoiesis Supportive Function And Other Potentials

These cells come from fetuses which is why stem cells are such a controversial issue. In order to actually use embryonic cells, they must be harvested from an unborn baby that is in the early stages of life. Embryonic cells have the ability to be all 220 types of tissues in the human body. “This makes them ideal for regenerating diseased heart tissue, repairing spinal cords, and replenishing brain cells”, Elizabeth Svoboda, an author in the publicized Popular Science magazine, illustrates in her article about stem cells (60). Embryonic cells have limitless possibilities in medical advancement. These cells can become whatever type of cell a doctor program them to be. With the use of embryonic stem cells, doctors can cure several diseases, as well as curing people who have suffered injuries, but research is being slowed down by the ethical dilemma of aborting a

The first type of stem cell, an embryonic stem cell, is known for being able to continuously multiply, as well as for being pluripotent. They can be “derived in vitro from the blastocyst of an embryo usually left over from in vitro fertilization” (Forraz & McGuckin, 2011, p.61). Unlike other types of stem cells, embryonic stem cells have yet to be used in any kind of clinical treatment of patients. The high risks of “immune rejection” or “teratoma formation” are serious obstacles (Harris, 2009, p.182). The second type of stem cell, adult stem cells, is primarily considered to be multipotent and may be found in “specific adult human tissues” such as the skin or bone marrow, just to name a few. Over the last twenty years, the amount of scientific research and trials using adult stem cells has grown significantly, despite their lower potency than embryonic stem cells (Forraz & McGuckin, 2011, p.61). Lastly, cord blood stem cells, are technically considered to be a special type of adult stem cell, but their youthful properties give them “greater restorative and regenerative potential.” Directly following the birth of a child, these stem cells can be collected from the blood in the umbilical cord (Steenblock & Payne, 2006, p.9). Embryonic, adult, and cord blood stem cells

Bone marrow transplants save a lot lives every year, a suitable donor is regrettably not always available. Since organs are routinely harvested from cadaveric organ donors, Scientists decided to assess such a possibility for bone marrow. They analyzed the functional properties and the phenotypic markers of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) from cadaveric bone marrow. Fresh bone marrow was capable of growing and developing in cell suspension for 2

It doesn’t stop at the cord blood either. Further research shows that stem cells can be obtained

A limited amount of stem cells can be extracted from after birth, but these few cells can mean a longer or improved life for someone (Bergman). In addition, people believe that harvesting cord blood cells steals the cells from the child. The umbilical cord is cut and clamped just like a typical delivery (CariCord). Delayed clamping, in which the cord is left attached to drain the blood back into the baby, still allows the afterbirth to be donated. The science behind cord blood banking is still developing because these treatments have only been performed for a little over ten years and the only way to overcome that is to move forward with research (Stem Cell). Cord blood cells hold the potential of becoming brain and heart cells and combatting serious neurological diseases. The science is young, but one out of every three hundred kids are plagued with cerebral palsy and one of every sixty-eight children battle autism (What It Is). The chance of helping people throughout the world live a better life fuels the need for an increase of support in this budding

This source starts by talking about stem cells. Stem cells are the building blocks of every tissue on the human body. The research of stem cells has great potential to show just how effective it can be to heal any wound or disease. While adult stem cells are easily rejected, embryonic stem cells are much easier to use, can treat a greater variety of ailments, and are less likely to be rejected. Despite this, the use of embryonic stem cells are controversial due to the process of receiving them which is to kill a human embryo.

First of all an understanding of what a stem cell is, where it comes from, and the significance of it's medical potential is essential. Stem cells are the "master cells" that form the human body or whatever other animal it is from. Stem cells can be extracted from adult tissues, bone marrow, umbilical cord blood ( ), and embryos in the blastocyst stage. Although scientists have found ways to manipulate the stem cells from adult sources into other types of cells, they claim that they are less capable of deriving the desired tissue and are not "biologically equivalent" ( ) to stem cells extracted from embryos.

The process when stem cells give rise to blood cells, or any other specialized cells, is called differentiation (“Stem Cell Basics”). Stem Cells’ ability of differentiation can be targeted and directed to generate tissue and therefore to cure degenerative diseases (Panno 24-28). However, such medical promise faces the doubts and gives rise to disputes. In fact, federal funds for stem cell research were banned under President Bush’s administration, but the ban was then lifted by President Obama’s administration (Obama). Despite the different arguments, more medical trials should be conducted with embryonic stem cells in order to determine whether the medical promise is applicable or far-fetched.

Cord blood is a rich source of blood stem cells. Stem cells are the building blocks of the blood and immune system. They have the ability to develop into other types of cells, so they can help repair tissues, organs, and blood vessels and can be used to treat a host of diseases.

Umbilical cord mesenchymal cells would be isolated from Wharton’s jelly of babies born by c-section with the mother’s consent. The umbilical cords would be placed in Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution containing penicillin, streptomycin sulfate, and amphotericin B. The umbilical cord would be washed in alcohol and phosphate-buffered saline. With the amnion and blood vessels removed the left over umbilical cord would be chopped up into 5mm diameter pieces and placed into 35x10mm petri dishes. The umbilical mesenchymal cells would be cultured as per Yousefifard et al.’s methods. Excess blastocysts that would otherwise be discarded during in-vitro fertilization were collected from a local fertility clinic with full informed consent of the mothers. The embryonic stem cells would be then isolated from the inner mast cells of those blastocysts. These embryonic stem cells would then be cultured and differentiated into neural stem cells as per Nicoleau et al.’s methods. To ensure the identities of both cell types their surface antigens were checked using flow

According to viacord.com there are over 80 life-threating diseases and disorders that can be treated using the stem cells found within cord blood. Doctors are still discovering diseases, disorders, and cancers that can be treated. In 2010 a study was published in the Spinal Journal, this study found that in rats, the newborn's stem cells could can improve the neurologic function after undergoing a spinal cord injury. Researchers discovered that over a six-week period that the locomotor function in the rats that were treated with cord blood was significantly better than the rats the weren’t injected with the cord blood. It may only be the treatment of spinal cord injuries in rats as of now, however with the revelation it is only a matter of time until humans are being treated. Childhood Leukemia is one of the main illnesses that has been treated in humans by cord blood. Leukemia is a type of cancer where it affects a person’s blood cells. This cancer normally targets white blood cells produced from your bone marrow, this causes the white blood cells to be abnormal resulting them from performing properly. Patients diagnosed with leukemia normally receive radiation and chemotherapy in hope that that will cure them of this cancer. Many patients are also receiving stem cell transplants as well, this is where cord blood comes into play. By receiving a stem cells, the new stem cells can be used to restore healthy bone marrow by

When harvested immediately after the birth of a baby, cord blood has a number of stem cells that can take the form of other cell types in the body such as fat, liver, muscle, nerve, and blood cells.

In addition, innovative approaches using non-haematopoietic stem cells from cord blood and placenta could be used for treatment of auto-immune diseases or for regenerative medicine.

The second type of stem cell in use is the Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells. These stem cells come from the umbilical cord of a newborn which generally would get discarded. Otherwise, these cords are frozen and stored in a private blood bank, in case the stem cells should ever be needed by the donor or their family (“Umbilical Cord Blood”, par. 23). The processes to save these cells is; something like this, the parents pay a onetime fee and they receive a package for sending the cord in after delivery, after the initial process the family pays an annual storage fee to continue to

Bone marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) are fibroblast-like cells. They are considered self-renewing, expandable, clonal precursors of nonhematopoietic tissues. BMSCs are present as a rare population of cells in bone marrow, representing 0.001–0.01%(93). They are characterized by combinations of cell surface markers and their ability to differentiate into bone, fat and cartilage, in-vitro(94). BMSCs can be safely expanded in vitro without being susceptible to malignant transformation, thus rendering these cells suitable for cell therapy approaches. These cells possess the ability to engraft at the site of injury and promote tissue regeneration and wound healing through synergistic downregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and