Research
Proteome analysis of human Wharton's jelly cells during in vitro expansion
-
* Corresponding author: Stefania Angelucci s.angelucci@unich.it
1 Department of Biomedical Science, G d'Annunzio University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
2 Center of Excellence on Ageing, G d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy
3 Department of Biomorphology, G d'Annunzio University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
4 Neonatology Unit, Department of Ageing Sciences, "G d'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
5 Stem TeCh Group, Chieti, Italy
Proteome Science 2010, 8:18 doi:10.1186/1477-5956-8-18
Published: 26 March 2010Abstract
Background
The human umbilical cord contains mucoid connective tissue and fibroblast-like cells. These cells named Wharton's jelly cells, (WJCs) display properties similar to mesenchymal stem cells therefore representing a rich source of primitive cells to be potentially used in regenerative medicine.
Results
To better understand their self-renewal and potential in vitro expansion capacity, a reference 2D map was constructed as a proteomic data set. 158 unique proteins were identified. More than 30% of these proteins belong to cytoskeleton compartment. We also found that several proteins including Shootin1, Adenylate kinase 5 isoenzyme and Plasminogen activator-inhibitor 2 are no longer expressed after the 2nd passage of in vitro replication. This indicates that the proliferative potency of these cells is reduced after the initial stage of in vitro growing. At the end of cellular culturing, new synthesized proteins, including, ERO1-like protein alpha, Aspartyl-tRNA synthetase and Prolyl-4-hydroxylase were identified. It is suggested that these new synthesized proteins are involved in the impairment of cellular surviving during replication and differentiation time.
Conclusions
Our work represents an essential step towards gaining knowledge of the molecular properties of WJCs so as to better understand their possible use in the field of cell therapy and regenerative medicine.