Placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells possess better immunoregulatory properties compared to their cord-derived counterparts–a paired sample study

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) show immunoregulatory properties. Here, we compared MSCs obtained from placenta (P-MSCs) and umbilical cord (C-MSCs) from the same donor, for their immunomodulatory efficacy. P-MSCs and C-MSCs showed similar morphology and phenotypic profile, but different clonogenic ability. Importantly, they showed a significant difference in their immunosuppressive properties as assessed in mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR). The P-MSCs affected the antigen presenting ability of mononuclear cells (MNCs) and dendritic cells (DCs) significantly as compared to C-MSCs resulting in a reduced T-cell proliferation. P-MSC conditioned medium (CM) showed a significant reduction in T cell proliferation as compared to C-MSC CM, thus suggesting that a cell to cell contact is not essential. We found increased levels of IL-10 and TGFβ1 and reduction in levels of IFNγ in P-MSC MLRs as compared to C-MSC MLRs. Furthermore, the CD3(+) CD4(+) CD25(+) T regulatory cells were enriched in case of P-MSCs in both, MSC-MNC and MSC-DC co-cultures. This observation was further supported by increased mRNA expression of FoxP3 in P-MSCs. Presently, cord-derived MSCs are being employed in transplantation therapies parallel to the bone marrow-derived MSCs. Our findings suggest that P-MSCs can be a better alternative to C-MSCs, to provide aid in immunological ailments.