Comparison of human isogeneic Wharton’s Jelly MSCs and iPSC-derived MSCs responses to interferon-gamma (IFNG) stimulation

To explore differences between native MSCs (nMSCs) and iPSC-derived MSCs (iMSCs), we developed isogeneic lines from Wharton’s Jelly (WJ) from the umbilical cords of two donors (#12 and #13) under xeno-free conditions. Next, we reprogrammed them into iPSCs (iPSC12 and iPSC13) and subsequently differentiated them back into iMSCs (iMSC12 and iMSC13) using two different protocols, which we named ARG and TEX. As an additional control, we used human embryonic stem cell line KCL034 to differentiate the cells into eMSC following ARG and TEX protocols. We assessed IFNG-induced changes in all lines. Our data suggest that, following a careful selection and screening of donors, nMSCs from umbilical’s cord WJ can be easily reprogrammed into iPSCs providing an unlimited source of material for differentiation into iMSCs. However, the differentiation protocol should be chosen depending on their clinical use. To assess effects of IFNG on MSCs, recombinant human IFNG (Peprotech) was added to the media at 10 ng/ml and cells were cultured for 18 h prior to collection for RNA extraction