Reduced Proliferative Potential with Conserved Stem/Stromal Phenotype of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Placental Syndromes: A Prospective Cohort Study

Luigi Marino^1,2,†, Maria Antonietta Castaldi^1,3,†, Caterina Fulgione¹, Salvatore Giovanni Castaldi¹, Paola Manzo⁴, Valentina Giudice^1,4, Francesca Picone¹, Maria Rosaria Campitiello⁵, Mario Polichetti³, Maurizio Guida⁶, Carmine Selleri^1,4,*, Bianca Serio⁴

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¹ Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, 84084 Baronissi, Italy

² Department of Medicine, UConn Health, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT 06030, USA

³ Gynecology and Obstetrics Unit, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, 84131 Salerno, Italy

⁴ Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, 84131 Salerno, Italy

⁵ Health Department, National Health Institute, 00161 Rome, Italy

⁶ Gynecology Department, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80138 Naples, Italy

^*Correspondence: cselleri@unisa.it (Carmine Selleri)
^†These authors contributed equally.

Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2023, 50(9), 196; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.ceog5009196

Submitted: 20 April 2023 | Revised: 1 July 2023 | Accepted: 7 July 2023 | Published: 20 September 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Placental Anomalies and Pregnancy Outcomes)

This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Abstract

Background: Pathophysiology of placental syndromes is still unclear, and umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) might play a role in the development of these syndromes. In this prospective cohort study, we evaluated proliferative abilities of two types of UC-MSCs, Wharton’s Jelly MSCs (WJ-MSCs) and cord blood MSCs (CB-MSCs), in placental syndromes. Methods: A total of 16 cord blood and umbilical cord samples were seeded and cultured until MSC growth potential exhaustion. Cumulative population doublings were employed for studying growth potential, and flow cytometry immunophenotyping for verification of mesenchymal markers. Results: In our prospective cohort study, on one hand CB-MSCs from pathological pregnancies showed a significant reduction of growth potential, on the other hand WJ-MSCs showed a trend toward higher growth potential. This trend is consistent with the well-known faster-growing phenotype of WJ-MSCs under low oxygen atmosphere. Moreover, it’s well understood that chronic hypoxia is a main feature of both intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preeclampsia, thus, our data perfectly match with the well-known clinical characteristics. Conclusions: Growth potential of CB-MSCs obtained from placental syndromes tended to be reduced compared to that of MSCs from healthy pregnancies. Our results need to be confirmed in larger in vitro studies, as a higher number of CB- and WJ-MSC would better clarify pathophysiology of placental syndromes.

Keywords

mesenchymal stem cells

Wharton's Jelly

cord blood

placental syndromes

intrauterine growth restriction

Funding

Intramural Program of the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Italy

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Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. Print ISSN 0390-6663 Electronic ISSN 2709-0094