Using human umbilical cord cells for tissue engineering: a comparison with skin cells

Area of Science:

• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
• Cell Biology
• Dermatology

Background:

• Human umbilical cord cells, specifically epithelial cells and Wharton's jelly cells (WJC), are understudied for tissue-engineered substitutes.
• Existing tissue engineering strategies utilize self-assembly for creating living human tissues like skin and cornea from postnatal sources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the potential of human umbilical cord epithelial cells and WJC in generating a reconstructed skin substitute.
• To compare the differentiation capacity of cord epithelial cells on stromal cells (keratinocytes/fibroblasts) versus WJC.
• To assess the supportive role of WJC as dermal fibroblasts for epithelial cell differentiation.

Main Methods:

• Reconstruction of skin substitutes using combinations of umbilical cord epithelial cells, WJC, skin keratinocytes, and fibroblasts.
• Culture of constructs under air exposure to promote epithelial stratification and differentiation.
• Analysis of epithelial stratification, differentiation markers, and extracellular matrix production.

Main Results:

• The combination of WJC and keratinocytes yielded constructs most similar to native skin.
• Cord epithelial cells differentiated on dermal fibroblasts but maintained some umbilical cord-specific keratin expression (K18, K19).
• WJC supported keratinocyte growth and differentiation, but cord epithelial cells on WJC did not form a differentiated epidermis.

Conclusions:

• The origin of cells significantly impacts the properties and homeostasis of reconstructed tissue substitutes.
• Wharton's jelly cells show promise as a stromal component in skin tissue engineering.
• Further research is needed to optimize the use of umbilical cord-derived cells for clinical applications.