Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Dec 26, 2020; 12(12): 1511-1528
Published online Dec 26, 2020. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v12.i12.1511
Prospects for the therapeutic development of umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells
Soyoun Um, Jueun Ha, Soo Jin Choi, Wonil Oh, Hye Jin Jin
Soyoun Um, Research Team for Immune Cell Therapy, Biomedical Research Institute, MEDIPOST Co., Ltd., Seongnam 13494, South Korea
Jueun Ha, Research Team for Osteoarthritis, Biomedical Research Institute, MEDIPOST Co., Ltd., Seongnam 13494, South Korea
Soo Jin Choi, Wonil Oh, Hye Jin Jin, Biomedical Research Institute, MEDIPOST Co., Ltd., Seongnam 13494, South Korea
Author contributions: Um S and Jin HJ wrote the manuscript; Ha J and Choi SJ and Oh W collected the data and provided the resources. All authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hye Jin Jin, PhD, Director, Senior Researcher, Biomedical Research Institute, MEDIPOST Co., Ltd., 21, Daewangpangyo-ro 644-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam 13494, South Korea. genny77@medi-post.co.kr
Received: June 30, 2020
Peer-review started: June 30, 2020
First decision: October 21, 2020
Revised: October 23, 2020
Accepted: November 11, 2020
Article in press: November 11, 2020
Published online: December 26, 2020
Processing time: 180 Days and 2.1 Hours
Abstract

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a primitive and abundant source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). UCB-derived MSCs have a broad and efficient therapeutic capacity to treat various diseases and disorders. Despite the high latent self-renewal and differentiation capacity of these cells, the safety, efficacy, and yield of MSCs expanded for ex vivo clinical applications remains a concern. However, immunomodulatory effects have emerged in various disease models, exhibiting specific mechanisms of action, such as cell migration and homing, angiogenesis, anti-apoptosis, proliferation, anti-cancer, anti-fibrosis, anti-inflammation and tissue regeneration. Herein, we review the current literature pertaining to the UCB-derived MSC application as potential treatment strategies, and discuss the concerns regarding the safety and mass production issues in future applications.

Keywords: Umbilical cord blood; Mesenchymal stem cell; Stem cell therapy; Immunomodulation; Regenerative medicine; Therapeutic cell manufacturing processing

Core Tip: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a primitive and rich source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). UCB-derived MSCs have the potential of exerting profound immunomodulatory effects with the secretion of factors and cytokines. However, the safety and yield of UCB-derived MSCs are still a concern. Next-generation stem cell therapy is necessary, referring to the mass production of efficient stem cells based on the fundamental technology, to improve whole cell processing.