Application of Wharton's Jelly Derived from Human Umbilical Cord in Tissue Engineering

Tissue Engineering (TE) represents an effective approach for addressing tissue or organ defects and functional impairments. Cells, scaffolds, and growth factors, as the three elements of TE, play an important role in tissue repair. In recent years, there has been growing interest in Wharton's Jelly (WJ), obtained from the umbilical cord of postpartum medical waste. Mesenchymal stem cells, extracellular matrix, and growth factors derived from WJ have been widely used in TE. WJ has shown the potential to treat a wide range of diseases in clinical applications. This review discusses the mechanisms of action of WJ, focusing on their applications in the field of tissue damage repair. We also highlight the advantages, current limitations, and future directions of WJ-based therapies, including challenges related to standardization, scalability, long-term safety, and clinical translation.