Effect of oxygen tension on proliferation and characteristics of Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from Wharton's jelly have a higher proliferation rate and self-renewal capacity than adult tissue-derived MSCs. A low oxygen level or hypoxic condition is prevalent in the microenvironment of the stem cells in the early stages of development. Hypoxia can influence proliferation and differentiation of various stem/precursor cell populations. This research was conducted: to determine the proliferation rate and characteristics of human MSCs from Wharton's jelly in hypoxic and normoxic condition; to evaluate their character after MSCs are incubated in hypoxic and normoxic environment using surface markers including CD105, CD73, CD14, CD19, CD34, CD45, and HLA-II; and to evaluate the proliferation rate and number of MSCs at many passages using the trypan blue method. The hypoxic and normoxic microenvironment showed significant differences in the proliferation rate and population doubling time, but and there were no differences in surface markers.