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Lessons from human umbilical cord: gender differences in stem cells from Wharton's jelly
Francesca Balzano1, Emanuela Bellu1, Valentina Basoli2
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
Objective:
To study the molecular features of mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton Jelly (WJ-MSCs) of umbilical cord to predict their differentiation capacity.
Design:
Comparison of gene expression from mesenchymal stem cells of male and female umbilical cord SETTING: University hospital PATIENT (S): umbilical cords (n = 12, 6 males and 6 females) retrieved from spontaneous full-term vaginal delivery of healthy women INTERVENTION: we analyzed the expression of the stemness related genes C-MYC, OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG and of the epigenetic modulating gene DNA-methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1).
Mean Outcome Measure:
WJ-MSCs were isolated by standard procedures and immunophenotypically characterized. Gene expression analysis of stemness related genes and the epigenetic modulating gene DNMT1 were performed by real-time PCR RESULTS: expression of the OCT4 and DNMT1 genes was significantly higher in WJ- MSCs isolated from male subjects, as compared to MSCs isolated from female-derived WJ. The resulting higher expression of OCT4 and DNMT1 in WJ-MSCs from males as compared with female WJ-MSCs for the first time identifies a specific relationship between stemness genes, an epigenetic modulator, and gender differences.
Conclusion:
our findings disclose novel biomedical implications in WJ-MSCs related to the sex of the donor, thus providing additional cues to exploit their regenerative potential in allogenic transplantation.