Isolation of Porcine Umbilical Cord Cells by Mechanical Tissue Dissociation Using a Tissue Grinder

Primary cells better reflect the physiological situation, and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), especially, are promising candidates for biomedical applications. MSCs from the umbilical cord (UC) can be collected easily, non-invasively, and painlessly and do not involve ethical problems. The derived cell products harbor great potential in stem cell technology and agricultural applications. A tissue grinder (TIGR) was used to homogenize porcine UC tissue and to dissociate the UC cells, thereby testing different tissue-to-medium ratios. Cells were cultivated until passage 3, and the proliferation rate, metabolic activity, colony forming ability, surface marker expression, and multi-lineage differentiation potential were assessed. Tissue grinding could be successfully used to isolate UC-derived porcine cells with a high yield and viability, as well as an increasing proliferation rate during cultivation. Isolated cells showed MSC-like features: the expression of CD73, CD90, and CD105, ability to form colonies, and adipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic differentiation. Tissue grinding is highly suitable for isolating high-quality cells from whole UC tissue of pigs in a fast and reproducible way. Cells might be used in a wide range of therapeutical and biotechnological applications, such as understanding and treating severe disorders, drug screening, or tissue engineering. Cells from supposedly waste tissues like UC will be especially useful in transplantation medicine.