Postpartum cells derived from placental tissue, and methods of making and using the same

1. A method of producing a population of placenta-derived cells by expanding an isolated human placenta-derived cell in culture and obtaining a homogenous population of placenta-derived cells,

wherein said isolated human placenta-derived cell is obtained from human postpartum placenta substantially free of blood, and

wherein said cell population self-renews and expands in culture, is multipotent, and has the following characteristics:

a) produces CD10, CD13, CD44, CD73, CD90, PDGFr-alpha, PD-L2, HLA-A,B,C, and granulocyte chemotactic protein-2 (GCP-2);

b) does not produce CD31, CD34, CD45, CD80, CD86, CD117, CD141, CD178, B7-H2, HLA-G or HLA-DR-DP,DQ;

c) does not produce GRO-alpha and oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor, as detected by flow cytometry;

d) expresses, relative to a human fibroblast, mesenchymal stem cell, or iliac crest bone marrow cell, increased levels of oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor 1 mRNA and renin; and

e) has the ability to undergo at least 40 population doublings in culture.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said expanding said isolated placenta-derived cell comprises culturing in RPMI1640 medium, Ham's F10 medium, Ham's F12 medium, Mesenchymal Stem Cell Growth Media, Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium, Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM)-high glucose, DMEM-low glucose, advanced DMEM, DMEM/MCDB201, CELL-GRO FREE, DMEM/F12, or Eagle's basal medium.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said expanding comprises culturing said placenta-derived cell in medium comprising DMEM-low glucose, serum, beta-mercaptoethanol, and an antibiotic agent.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the culture medium comprises serum.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the culture medium is protein-free culture medium.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the culture medium is serum-free culture medium.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell population further has the following characteristics:

a) secretion of monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL8), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1), thrombopoietin (TPO), macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha (MIP1a), Rantes (regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted), thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC), and Eotaxin; and

b) lack of secretion of fibroblast growth factor (FGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin 2 (ANG2), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF-bb), transforming growth factor beta2 (TGFbeta2), macrophage inflammatory protein 1beta (MIP1b), I309, and macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC), as detected by ELISA.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the isolated human placenta-derived cell is of a neonatal origin.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the isolated human placenta-derived cell is of a maternal origin.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell population expands in the following culture media in order of growth: Growth medium>Mesenchymal Stem Cell Growth Medium (MSCGM)>Iscove's+10% serum=DMEM-high glucose+10% serum=Ham's F12+10% serum=RPMI1640+10% serum.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell population has the ability to differentiate into a mesodermal, ectodermal, or endodermal phenotype.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said cell isolated from human postpartum placenta substantially free of blood is produced by contacting said human postpartum placenta substantially free of blood with a composition comprising a matrix metalloprotease, a mucolytic enzyme that digests hyaluronic acid, and a neutral protease, and obtaining the cells yielded by said contacting.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the isolated homogeneous cell population is identified by ATCC Accession No. PTA-6074.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the isolated homogeneous cell population is identified by ATCC Accession No. PTA-6075.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the isolated homogeneous cell population is identified by ATCC Accession No. PTA-6079.