Comparative analysis of biological characteristics of adult mesenchymal stem cells with different tissue origins

Objective: To invest the dif erences among mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) derived from different tissues and their impacts on clinical applications. Methods: In this study, MSCs were isolated from adipose tissue(AD), umbilical cord tissue(UC), and menstrual blood(Men) and comparedtheir biological characteristics in terms of proliferation capacity, passage capacity, colony formation, and surface markers were compared. Results: The stem cells(SCs) obtained from different sources were all characterized as MSCs, but demonstrated some dif erences. Umbilical cord-derived MSCs(UCMSCs) were able to overcome density inhibition. The proliferation rate decreased in the order UCMSCs> Men SCs> ADSCs, while the colony-forming ability decreased in the order Men SCs> ADSCs> UCMSCs. Based on gene-expression data for MSCs from dif erent sources within the same donor, 768 Men SC genes were found that were specii cally upregulated or downregulated compared with bone marrow-derived MSCs and UCMSCs, most of which were involved in cell function-related pathways. In addition, Men SCs appeared to be superior in terms of immune inl ammation, stress response, and neural dif erentiation potentials, but weaker in terms of osteogenic and chondrogenic dif erentiation capacities, compared with UCMSCs and bone marrow-derived MSCs. Conclusions: Men SCs have higher extraction ei ciency, colony-forming ability, and long time passage capacity. Although the proliferation capacity is inferior to UCMSCs.