Neuronal potential of umbilical cord blood non-hematopoietic multipotent stem cells

Abstract

The human central nervous system, one of the most complex organ systems anatomically and physiologically in the human body, is the body control center which manages and coordinates functions of all different organ systems. The lack of effective treatments and therapeutic intervention make injuries and disorders associated with the central nervous system one of the most dangerous and fatal health conditions worldwide. The adult nervous system has a limited capability of self-repair and regeneration following either a neurological disorder or injury. Despite being limited and ineffective in initiating recovery from injuries and disorders, this property opened the doors for a new direction of research aimed at investigating the possibility of developing therapies and treatments for central nervous system injuries and disorders based on the concept of regeneration and cell transplantations. Stem cells have gained significant public attention over the past decade due to their differentiation capabilities and potential utilization in clinical applications. The ability to differentiate stem cells into neural lineages including neurons and glial cells, highlighted their potential role as a therapeutic tool for central nervous system injuries and disorders. The main aim of this thesis is to show that umbilical cord blood stem cells are a potential source of cells that could be used therapeutically in central nervous system injuries and disorders. A distinct population of cells has been purified from human umbilical cord blood. These cells have been characterized and differentiated in-vitro into neuron-like cells using fully defined sequential neuronal induction protocol. The differentiated cells were shown to have similar morphological and functional properties to developing central nervous system endogenous neurons using several different techniques, including immunocytochemistry, real-time PCR, cDNA arrays and calcium imaging. The results highlight the potential role of umbilical cord blood stem cells as a therapeutic tool for central nervous system injuries and disorders for which current mode of therapy is inadequate. In addition, they might provide an in-vitro model of neural cells for toxicology and drugs testing research.