Neuro-muscular Regeneration Using Scaffolds with Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) Isolated from Human Umbilical Cord Wharton's Jelly: Functional and Morphological Analysis Using Rat Sciatic Nerve Neurotmesis Injury Model

Peripheral nerves possess the capacity of self-regeneration after traumatic injury but the extent of regeneration is often poor and may benefit from exogenous factors that enhance growth. Neonatal tissues are routinely discarded at parturition so little ethical controversy attends the harvest of the Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) which may play an important therapeutic role through the secretion of soluble trophic factors which enhance and assist in repair by paracrine activation of surrounding cells. The use of cellular systems is a rational approach for delivering neurotrophic factors at the nerve lesion site, and in our recent research work we have been evaluating the therapeutic value of MSCs isolated from the Wharton jelly (WJ) in nerve repair associated to different tube-guides made of biodegradable and biocompatible biomaterials. The WJ MSCs in vitro studies included cell characterization by immunocytochemistry, karyotype analysis, tri-lineage differentiation capacity and flow cytometry and also citocompatibility by measuring the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in the presence of different tube-guides.

Description

Conference name 4th International Conference on Tissue Engineering - An ECCOMAS Thematic Conference, ICTE 2015, Lisboa
onference date 25 June 2015 - 27 June 2015

Keywords

nerve regeneration neurogenic muscle atrophy mesenchymal stem cells umbilical cord Wharton´s jelly functional assessment histomorphometry

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/15054

Citation

Caseiro, Ana & Pereira, Tiago & Ribeiro, Jorge & Amorim, Irina & Faria, Francisca & Bártolo, Paulo & Armada-da-Silva, Paulo & Luis, Ana & Mauricio, Ana Colette. (2015). Neuro-muscular Regeneration Using Scaffolds with Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) Isolated from Human Umbilical Cord Wharton's Jelly: Functional and Morphological Analysis Using Rat Sciatic Nerve Neurotmesis Injury Model. Procedia Engineering. 110. 10.1016/j.proeng.2015.07.016.