Harvesting Newborn Stem Cells from Cord Lining with CellOptima

Available exclusively from Cordlife, CellOptima™ can isolate and expand two types of stem cells: MSC and EpSC, from the lining of your baby’s umbilical cord. Patent protection of CellOptima™ has been granted by many countries because the technology is novel, first-of-its-kind, and useful. All patents granted for CellOptima™ prevent other companies from harvesting stem cells from cord lining.

What is CellOptima^TM?

CellOptima^TM is a proprietary technology of Cell Research Corp which isolates two different cell lines from the umbilical cord lining - Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) and Epithelial Stem Cells (EpSC) - and confirms the viability and functionality of the cells by Explant Expansion Culture and Explant Differentiation Culture.

How is the cord tissue processed in CellOptima^TM?

The collected cord is processed using proprietary Explant Processing Medium and it is then stored in multiple vials by using Explant Storage Medium for long term cryopreservation.      

After 30 days of cryopreservation, the stored specimen is subjected to expansion and differentiation to test whether the stem cells are potent/functional and subsequent reports are shared with the clients.

What is the benefit of offering CellOptima^TM to a parent?

Other private cord blood banks offer parents storage of Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSC) from cord blood and Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) from cord tissue. However, Epithelial Stem Cells (EpSC) are a third cell line which is available in the lining of the cord, and can only be stored with patented CellOptima^TM technology.

CellOptima^TM provides the isolation and expansion of two cell lines (EpSCs and MSCs) from the umbilical cord lining and confirms the viability and functionality of the stem cells.

The methods that other private cord blood banks offer to cryopreserve cord tissue are only optimized to yield MSC from Wharton's Jelly of the umbilical cord. Many private cord blood banks are freezing Wharton's Jelly in whole cord tissue or from minced tissue explants. However, research shows that freezing Wharton's Jelly from tissue results in sub-optimal post thaw cell recovery¹.

Additionally, in comparison to the cell viability reports provided by other banks which are predominantly pre-cryopreservation results, CellOptima^TM provides the expansion and differentiation results post thaw which in itself provides the parents an added assurance that the stored stem cells are capable of performing their functions after cryopreservation and thaw, and will be instrumental in the success of therapy with these cells.

What is the efficiency of cell yield from CellOptima^TM?

Each vial of CellOptima^TM storage allows the harvest of 50 to 500 million total nucleated cells (TNC). CellOptima^TM cannot be compared to other services currently offered to parents because none of the other methods on the market are capable of extracting EpSC from the amniotic membrane that lines the umbilical cord. 

What applications of Newborn Stem Cells from Cord Lining are under study?

Today, more than 169 registered clinical trials² are ongoing worldwide to uncover the potential^3,4 of MSC and EpSC from perinatal sources. Encouraging results have been published; for example MSC have helped to repair damage caused by stroke and heart disease. Some therapies use MSC in combination with HSC as a dual therapy to promote faster engraftment of HSC and to reduce immune system complications.

The EpSC are unique in that they can differentiate into the epithelial layer that forms the inner and outer lining of our body. Any damage to these layers cannot be treated effectively by any type of stem cells other than EpSCs. That is why it is important to give parents the opportunity to bank the epithelial stem cells at birth and increase the avenue for more treatments.

Dr. Prosanto Kumar Chowdhury is a prominent haematologist, specializing in thalassaemia. Dr. Chowdhury obtained his MBBS degree in 1994, finishing with honours and a gold medal. He then went on to do a post-graduate fellowship in maternal and child health followed with an MSc degree in haemoglobinopathy from University College, London. He has a fellowship and MPhil in regenerative medicine and translational sciences from West Bengal University of Health Sciences. He also has the FAIIMT accreditation. Dr. Chowdhury received training in cord blood banking from the renowned Milan Cord Blood Bank in 2003. His relationship with Cordlife began in 2006. Since then he has been the Technical Director of the organization. He has been an instrumental figure in establishing the product procurement, processing, and release guidelines for the facility and the expert panel of the government. He was part of the team that performed the first bone marrow stem cell transplantation, first peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, and first umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation for thalassaemia in Eastern India.

References

1. Fong C-Y et al. Freezing of Fresh Wharton's Jelly From Human Umbilical Cords Yields High Post-Thaw Mesenchymal Stem Cell Numbers for Cell-Based Therapies. J Cell Biochem. 2016 Apr;117(4):815-27 
2. Cell trials Data CellTrials.org
3. Cordlife. Potential Applications of MSC and EpSC Stem Cells
4. Cordlife. List of Clinical Trials with Stem Cells harvested with CellOptima™