Comparative Analysis Of Bone Marrow and Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells

Bone narrow (BM)- derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) represent the most extensively studied population of adult MSCs and are considered as the gold-standard for MSC-based clinical applications. Yet, it is now becoming increasingly clear that BM may not represent the most suitable source for MSC collection. Indeed, Umbilical cord (UC) has emerged as a more abundant and easily attainable source of MSCs and several reports have shown that MSCs can be efficiently isolated from the connective tissue that surrounds UC vessels, namely the Wharton’s jelly (WJ). According to the existing literature, WJ-MSCs display typical MSC characteristics, however a head-to-head comparison with BM-MSCs is still lacking.