Wharton's jelly

It is most easily found as a component of Wharton's jelly.

In one trial, stem cells were isolated from the Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord.

In contrast to the contribution of Wharton's jelly, cooling causes only temporary vasoconstriction.

The exposed vessels are not protected by Wharton's jelly and hence are vulnerable to rupture.

Wharton's jelly is therefore a potential source of adult stem cells (also see the more common method of storing cord blood).

The umbilical cord is composed of Wharton's jelly, a gelatinous substance made largely from mucopolysaccharides.

Expectant parents can now also collect and preserve stem cells from the tissue of the umbilical cord, whose medical name is Wharton's jelly.

The Company was started to store umbilical cord blood and cord tissue (Wharton's jelly) stem cells.

The youngest, most primitive MSCs can be obtained from the umbilical cord tissue, namely Wharton's jelly and the umbilical cord blood.

Wharton's jelly, when exposed to temperature changes, collapses structures within the umbilical cord and thus provides a physiological clamping of the cord (an average of) 5 minutes after birth.

However the MSCs are found in much higher concentration in the Wharton's jelly compared to the umbilical cord blood, which is a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells.

Thomas Wharton (1614-1673) was an English physician and anatomist best known for his descriptions of the submandibular duct (one of the salivary ducts) and Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord.

MSCs have been isolated from placenta, adipose tissue, lung, bone marrow and blood, Wharton's jelly from the umbilical cord, and teeth (perivascular niche of dental pulp and periodontal ligament).

Wharton's jelly (substantia gelatinea funiculi umbilicalis) is a gelatinous substance within the umbilical cord also present in vitreous humor of the eyeball, largely made up of mucopolysaccharides (hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate).

In absence of external interventions, the umbilical cord occludes physiologically shortly after birth, explained both by a swelling and collapse of Wharton's jelly in response to a reduction in temperature and by vasoconstriction of the blood vessels by smooth muscle contraction.