Are serum-free and xeno-free culture conditions ideal for large scale clinical grade expansion of Wharton’s jelly derived mesenchymal stem cells? A comparative study

Priyanka Swamynathan, Parvathy Venugopal, Suresh Kannan, Charan Thej, Udaykumar Kolkundar, Swaroop Bhagwat, Malancha Ta, Anish Sen Majumdar, Sudha Balasubramanian

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) for clinical use have largely been isolated from the bone marrow, although isolation of these cells from many different adult and fetal tissues has been reported as well. One such source of MSCs is the Whartons Jelly (WJ) of the umbilical cord, as it provides an inexhaustible source of stem cells for potential therapeutic use. Isolation of MSCs from the umbilical cord also presents little, if any, ethical concerns, and the process of obtaining the cord tissue is relatively simple with appropriate consent from the donor. However, a great majority of studies rely on the use of bovine serum containing medium for isolation and expansion of these cells, and porcine derived trypsin for dissociating the cells during passages, which may pose potential risks for using these cells in clinical applications. It is therefore of high priority to develop a robust production process by optimizing culture variables to efficiently and consistently generate MSCs that retain desired regenerative and differentiation properties while minimizing risk of disease transmission.