Human Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Regulate the Surrounding Microenvironment through Active Secretion of Signaling Molecules

Human umbilical cord blood, a rich source of hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells, provides an interesting therapeutic source of primitive cells. Specifically, human umbilical cord blood stem cells (hUCBSC) involve neither ethical issues related to embryonic stem cells nor common serious side-effects such as graft-versus-host disease, which may occur with bone marrow stem cells. In addition, hUCBSC exhibit higher proliferation and expansion potential than their adult bone marrow counterparts. Studies have demonstrated that hUCBSC influence their surrounding microenvironment in several ways: inhibiting neuronal death and apoptosis, controlling tumor proliferation and invasion, and inducing cell differentiation, neoangiogenesis, tissue repair and neuronal regeneration