Wharton's jelly (''substantia gelatinea funiculi umbilicalis'') is a gelatinous substance within the
umbilical cord
In Placentalia, placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or ''funiculus umbilicalis'') is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord i ...
, largely made up of
mucopolysaccharides
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) or mucopolysaccharides are long, linear polysaccharides consisting of repeating disaccharide units (i.e. two-sugar units). The repeating two-sugar unit consists of a uronic sugar and an amino sugar, except in the case o ...
(
hyaluronic acid
Hyaluronic acid (; abbreviated HA; conjugate base hyaluronate), also called hyaluronan, is an anionic, nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan distributed widely throughout connective, epithelial, and neural tissues. It is unique among glycosaminog ...
and
chondroitin sulfate
Chondroitin sulfate is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composed of a chain of alternating sugars (N-Acetylgalactosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid). It is usually found attached to proteins as part of a proteoglycan. A chondroit ...
). It acts as a
mucous connective tissue containing some
fibroblasts
A fibroblast is a type of biological cell typically with a spindle shape that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, produces the structural framework ( stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing. Fibrobla ...
and
macrophages
Macrophages (; abbreviated MPhi, φ, MΦ or MP) are a type of white blood cell of the innate immune system that engulf and digest pathogens, such as cancer cells, microbes, cellular debris and foreign substances, which do not have proteins that ...
, and is derived from extra-embryonic
mesoderm
The mesoderm is the middle layer of the three germ layers that develops during gastrulation in the very early development of the embryo of most animals. The outer layer is the ectoderm, and the inner layer is the endoderm.Langman's Medical ...
of the
connecting stalk
The connecting stalk, or body stalk, is an embryonic structure that is formed by the third week of development and connects the embryo to its shell of trophoblasts. The connecting stalk is derived from the extraembryonic mesoderm. Initially it li ...
.
Umbilical cord occlusion
As a
mucous connective tissue, it is rich in
proteoglycans
Proteoglycans are proteins that are heavily glycosylation, glycosylated. The basic proteoglycan unit consists of a "core protein" with one or more covalent bond, covalently attached glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain(s). The point of attachment is a ...
, and protects and insulates
umbilical blood vessels.
Wharton's jelly, when exposed to temperature changes, collapses structures within the umbilical cord and thus provides a physiological clamping of the cord, typically three minutes after birth.
Stem cells
Cells in Wharton's jelly express several
stem cell
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...
genes, including
telomerase
Telomerase, also called terminal transferase, is a ribonucleoprotein that adds a species-dependent telomere repeat sequence to the 3' end of telomeres. A telomere is a region of repetitive sequences at each end of the chromosomes of most euka ...
. They can be extracted, cultured, and induced to differentiate into mature cell types such as
neurons
A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...
.
Wharton's jelly is therefore a potential source of
adult stem cells
Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells (from Greek σωματικóς, ...
, often collected from
cord blood
Cord blood (umbilical cord blood) is blood that remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells, which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders ...
.
Etymology
It is named for the English physician and anatomist
Thomas Wharton (1614–1673) who first described it in his publication ''Adenographia'', or "The Description of the Glands of the Entire Body", first published in 1656.
Isolation of stem cells protocol
After obtaining the umbilical cord from the donor, it is transported to the laboratory in a cold and sterile environment using a transfer buffer that contains
phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Subsequently, the vessels should be eliminated from the umbilical cord tissue on a sterile plate with the aid of
autoclaved scissors. The sections of the umbilical cord tissue that are devoid of arteries should then be fragmented into smaller fragments. These tissue fragments are subsequently placed in a sterile cell culture plate or cell culture flask, and the
cell culture
Cell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cell (biology), cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside of their natural environment. After cells of interest have been Cell isolation, isolated from living tissue, ...
medium (enriched with
fetal bovine serum and
antibiotics
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...
) is added. Lastly, the flask containing the tissue fragments is placed in a CO2
incubator for a duration of 1-2 weeks. This process ultimately leads to the proliferation and migration of
stem cells
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...
from the Wharton's jelly into the plate or flask.
Marketing
A 2024 editorial described a
direct-to-consumer
Direct-to-consumer (DTC or D2C) or business-to-consumer (B2C) is the business model of selling products directly to customers and thereby bypassing any third-party retailers, wholesalers, or middlemen. Direct-to-consumer sales are usually transa ...
marketing email from a company in Arizona advertising a "3 for 1" sale on Exosomes or Whartons Jelly. The email stated that the products are "manufactured in an FDA-registered,
cGMP CGMP is an initialism. It can refer to:
*cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)
* current good manufacturing practice (cGMP)
*CGMP, Cisco Group Management Protocol, the Cisco version of Internet Group Management Protocol
The Internet Group Manag ...
compliant,
ISO
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries.
Me ...
certified lab", but did not mention that such birth products can be used only in a registered
clinical trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...
, according to a directive from the United States
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...
on May 31, 2021.
References
External links
*
Cross-section microscopic slide views of umbilical cord ucsd.edu
{{Extraembryonic and fetal membranes
Reproduction in mammals
Animal developmental biology
Embryology