Production of insulin producing cells from cord blood mesenchymal stem cells and their potential in cell therapy

Introduction: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were described as adherent cells with a fibroblast-like appearance, have a great capacity for self-renewal while maintaining their multipotency and differentiation into multiple tissues in vivo and in vitro. Methods: MSCs were isolated from cord blood of Sudanese donors using Ficoll-Hypaque gradient density protocol, and differentiate into β- like cells using 3-step protocol. STZ induced diabetic rats were injected intraperitoneally with the differentiated islet β- like cells and blood glucose levels were monitored for seven days. Results: The adherent cell appeared round and sphere after one-week of incubation, and the fibroblast-like colony was strongly attached after three weeks of seeding. The phenotyping of cells showed positivity for CD13, and negativity for CD34, CD45 and HLADR. MSCs were induced into islet-like cells using a 3-step (15-days) protocol. The differentiated cells showed positive diathizone stain and positive imuno-reactivity to anti-human insulin antibody. Secretion of insulin by insulin-producing cells showed positive result with >3.4 u/ml scale reading in high glucose concentration medium. After one-week of transplantation the level of blood glucose was reduced from 410 to 225 mg/dl in the experimental rat. Conclusion: Human UCB-MSCs can be differentiated into insulin-secreting cells invitro, and are able to produce and secrete insulin in response to high glucose concentration in vivo and in vitro. Keywords: Cord blood, Mesenchymal stem cell, islets β-like cells