Proteomic analysis of human mesenchymal stem cells.

Umbilical cord (UC) and placenta (P) are generally believed to be potential alternatives to bone marrow (BM), as sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) for cell therapy. They possess immunophenotypic and functional characteristics which are similar to that of BM-MSC, yet one of the crucial factors in determining the tissue regeneration process--the migration capacity--is still unclear. In our previous study, the migration capacity of BM- and P-MSC was found 5.9- and 3.2-fold higher than that of UC-MSC, respectively. By using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and combined MS and MS/MS analysis, six proteins were identified as differentially expressed among these MSC samples. Five out of the six proteins were known to be involved in cell migration as migration inhibiting or enhancing proteins.