Abstract
Autologous skin grafts are used to treat severe burn wounds, however, the availability of adequate donor sites makes this option less practical. Recently, stem cells have been used successfully in tissue engineering and in regenerative medicine. The current study aims to differentiate umbilical cord tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells (CT-MSCs) into skin cells (fibroblasts and keratinocytes) for use to treat severe burn wounds. After isolation, MSCs were characterized and their growth characteristics were determined. The cells were induced to differentiate into fibroblasts and keratinocytes using respective induction medium. Results indicated that CT-MSCs were spindle shaped, plastic adherent and positive for CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90 markers. CT-MSCs also showed high proliferative potential as indicated by cumulative population doubling, doubling time and plating efficiency. The MSCs were successfully differentiated into fibroblast and keratinocytes as indicated by morphological changes and expression of lineage specific genes. We propose that these differentiated skin cells which are derived from CT-MSCs can thus be used for the development of bioengineered skin; however, further studies are required to evaluate the utility of these substitutes.