Umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta which is normally discarded after the birth of the baby. It contains a high concentration of Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSC), Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and Epithelial Stem Cells (EpSCs).
Umbilical cord consists of cord lining and Wharton's jelly. It contains a higher concentration of mesenchymal and epithelial stem cells than cord lining as the cells will be derived from both cord lining and Wharton's jelly.
Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are responsible for replenishing blood and regenerating the immune system. HSCs are special precursor cells which regenerates the following cells in our blood:
- Red blood cells which carry oxygen to all cells in the body
- White blood cells which fight infection
- Platelets which assist blood clotting in the event of injury
Haematopoietic stem cells are used in standard treatments for over 80 diseases, for example:
- Leukaemia
- Lymphoma
- Blood related disorders
- Thalassemia major
These treatment procedures are well-established and proven to be effective.
Mesenchymal stem cells are highly promising stem cells that are complementary to cord blood stem cells. They have the ability to move to the site of damage and assist with protecting, healing, regeneration and repair. They are the potential to differentiate and regenerate various kinds of tissue and organs:
- Bone tissue
- Cartilage tissue
- Muscle tissue
- Heart muscle tissue
- Nerve tissue
- Endothelial cells
- Fat tissue
MSCs are highly promising in the emerging fields of Cellular Therapy and Regenerative medicine. Treatment is shown to be therapeutic in several different pre-clinical animal models of human disease such as:
- Neurodegenerative disease
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Diabetes type 1
- Parkinson's
- Lung disease
- Liver disease
- Wound healing
- Bone and cartilage repair
- Auto-immune disorders
- etc.
Further research is being done in human clinical trials.
Epithelial stem cells are considered the key source for epidermal and skin regeneration. They are also currently being researched for corneal replacement (eye), intestine repair and lung epithelia.
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