Expansion of human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells in regenerative medicine

Figure 1 Human umbilical cord processing. A: Representative images of human umbilical cord (hUC) collection, and culture. A1: The hUC manually collected and processed aseptically; A2: The collected cord samples were washed 5 to 6 times in 1× phosphate buffered saline, the embedded connective tissue of hUC consists of one vein and two arteries; A3: The cord samples were cut horizontally into roughly 5 cm sections; A4: An incision was made vertically to expose arteries and vein of hUC; A5: Cord sample were diced approximately into 3 mm × 3 mm pieces; A6: Cord pieces were transferred into T-75 flasks; A7: Complete minimal essential medium alpha (MEM α) was added 8-10 mL; A8: Flask was marked with respective hUC donor number; A9: The flasks were incubated undisturbed for up to 7 d at 37 °C supplied with 5% CO₂; A10: Fresh medium was supplied without disturbing attached explant; B: Representative images of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cultured in different mediums; sub-culture MSCs on different cultural mediums for 3 d, morphologically observed showed rapid adherent growth, and proliferation in MEM α.