Cell differentiation markers in human umbilical cord; an immunohistochemical study

The full-term human umbilical cord is made of three blood vessels (two arteries and a vein) surrounded by the Wharton’s jelly, a soft connective tissue made of few mesenchymal stromal cells and an abundant extracellular matrix. Both endothelial and Wharton’s jelly cells are versatile in their differentiation potential; they have shown to be able to differentiate into several cell lineages. Since the differentiation potential of these cells is very wide, we thought it could be interesting to investigate the expression of several cell differentiation markers in the different regions of human umbilical cord. Immunohistochemistry showed the expression of E-cadherin and cytokeratins in the amniotic epithelium, cytokeratins were also expressed in the cells of Wharton’s jelly. Actin and Desmin immunoreactivity localizes in vessel musculature and in Wharton’s jelly. CD31 was expressed only in vessels endothelium, while CD68 by many cells scattered in the Wharton’s jelly and in the vascular compartment.