The Use of Wharton's Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Accelerate Second-Intention Cutaneous Wound Healing in Goat

Objective- This study was performed to evaluate the effects of caprine harton''s jelly MSCs transplantation on second intention cutaneous wound healing.Design- Experimental study.Animals- Five healthy Raeini goats.Procedures- After collection of caprine pregnant uterus of mixed breed goats from abattoir, the Wharton''s jelly of umbilical cord was harvested. The tissues were minced in ventilated flasks and explant culture method was used for separating MSCs. To investigate the stem cell properties, after evaluation of cell morphology and cell behavior in culture medium, the isolated cells were immunostained for Actin protein,histochemically assayed for the presence of alkaline phosphatase activity. After confirmation of stem cell properties of isolated cells, 9×106 MSCs were stained with BrdU and prepared for transplantation to each wound.Rectangular (3×3 cm) full thickness skin wounds were made on the both sides of thoracic vertebrate of 5 Raeini goats. The left wounds were implanted with MSCs and right wounds were considered as control group (without cell transplantation). The wound healing process (%wound contraction, %wound epithelialization, and %wound healing) were compared morphometrically between two groups, during 5 weeks study.Results- The isolated cells in present study were fusiform or spindle-form cells and able to form cell colony in culture medium. They showed a positive response to immunohistochemical staining of α-actine smooth muscle and alkaline phosphates. Immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibodies against BrdU of labeled cells confirmed that the transformed cells were still alive in the wound bed. Morphometric evaluation of wounds showed that wound contraction, re-epithelialization, and healing percentage in treated wounds with MSCs were significantly more than control wounds during 5 week study (P<0.05).