Sandra Sensken

TL;DR: A new, intrinsically pluripotent, CD45-negative population from human cord blood, termed unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs) is described, which grows adherently and can be expanded to 1015 cells without losing pluripotency.

TL;DR: USSC produce functionally significant amounts of hematopoiesis-supporting cytokines and are superior to BMMSC in expansion of CD34+ cells from CB and are therefore a suitable candidate for stroma-driven ex vivo expansion of heMatopoietic CB cells for short-term reconstitution.

TL;DR: These USSCs or MSCs from CB, when matched for HLA antigens, may serve as an allogeneic stem cell source for the development of cellular therapy for tissue repair and can be easily obtained from fresh CB samples.

TL;DR: It is shown that USSC can differentiate in vitro into an endodermal-like cell with a phenotype similar to hepatic cells, and endodermaly differentiated USSC might be a useful alternative for cell replacement in the future.

TL;DR: USSC produce functionally significant amounts of hematopoiesis supporting cytokines and are able to expand CD34+ cells from CB in significantly higher amounts compared to BMMSC, therefore the USSC is a suitable candidate to direct ex-vivo expansion of heMatopoietic CB cells for short term reconstitution.