Biological characteristics of stem cells derived from burned skin—a comparative study with umbilical cord stem cells

INTRODUCTION: Burned human skin, which is routinely excised and discarded, contains viable mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (burn-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells; BD-MSCs). These cells show promising potential to enable and aid wound regeneration. However, little is known about their cell characteristics and biological function. OBJECTIVES: This study had two aims: first, to assess critical and cellular characteristics of BD-MSCs and, second, to compare those results with multipotent well-characterized MSCs from Wharton’s jelly of human umbilical cords (umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal/stem cells, UC-MSCs). METHODS: BD- and UC-MSCs were compared using immunophenotyping, multi-lineage differentiation, seahorse analysis for glycolytic and mitochondrial function, immune surface markers, and cell secretion profile assays. RESULTS: When compared to UC-MSCs, BD-MSCs demonstrated a lower mesenchymal differentiation capacity and altered inflammatory cytokine secretomes at baseline and after stimulation with lipopolysaccharides. No significant differences were found in population doubling time, colony formation, cell proliferation cell cycle, production of reactive oxygen species, glycolytic and mitochondrial function, and in the expression of major histocompatibility complex I and II and toll-like receptor (TLR). IMPORTANCE, TRANSLATION: This study reveals valuable insights about MSCs obtained from burned skin and show comparable cellular characteristics with UC-MSCs, highlighting their potentials in cell therapy and skin regeneration. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13287-021-02140-z.