The umbilical cord is a noncontroversial source of mesenchymal‐like stem cells.
Mesenchymal‐like cells are found in several tissue compartments of the umbilical cord,
placenta, and decidua. Here, we confine ourselves to discussing mesenchymal‐like cells
derived from Wharton's Jelly, called umbilical cord matrix stem cells (UCMSCs). Work from
several laboratories shows that these cells have therapeutic potential, possibly as a
substitute cell for bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells for cellular therapy. There …