Human fallopian tube: a new source of multipotent adult mesenchymal stem cells discarded in surgical procedures

BACKGROUND: The possibility of using stem cells for regenerative medicine has opened a new field of investigation. The search for sources to obtain multipotent stem cells from discarded tissues or through non-invasive procedures is of great interest. It has been shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from umbilical cords, dental pulp and adipose tissue, which are all biological discards, are able to differentiate into muscle, fat, bone and cartilage cell lineages. The aim of this study was to isolate, expand, characterize and assess the differentiation potential of MSCs from human fallopian tubes (hFTs). METHODS: Lineages of hFTs were expanded, had their karyotype analyzed, were characterized by flow cytometry and underwent in vitro adipogenic, chondrogenic, osteogenic, and myogenic differentiation. RESULTS: Here we show for the first time that hFTs, which are discarded after some gynecological procedures, are a rich additional source of MSCs, which we designated as human tube MSCs (htMSCs). CONCLUSION: Human tube MSCs can be easily isolated, expanded in vitro, present a mesenchymal profile and are able to differentiate into muscle, fat, cartilage and bone in vitro.