Introduction:
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that to-date has no definitive cure. The main challenge for successful therapy to treat diabetes lies in producing functional β-cells and overcoming the autoimmune response. Currently; regenerative medicine using Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) offers promising treatment. Objective. Comparison of the antidiabetic effect of bone marrow MSCs with Wharton’s jelly MSCs in streptozotocin-induced diabetes (T1D) in rat models.

Material and methods:
Wharton’s jelly derived from human umbilical cords and bone marrows aspirated from the posterior iliac crest were used for the isolation of WJ- MSCs and BM-MSCs, respectively. MSCs were cultured and cells from passage 6 were used for the study. Experimental animals were induced with T1D using multiple low dose streptozotocin (MLDSTZ). Experimental mice were divided into 6 groups (n =10); Groups 1 and 2 were diabetic and normal controls, Groups 3 and 4 were Diabetic mice treated with WJ- MSCs and BM- MSCs, and Groups 5 and 6 were diabetic mice given insulin and glybenclamide treatments, respectively.

Results:
Low blood glucose levels, increased serum insulin levels, and significant pancreatic regeneration were observed in WJ- MSCs treated diabetic group. This was accompanied by improvement of the histopathological changes. The results were not promising in the BM-MSCs groups which had no noticeable changes.

Conclusions:
The source of MSCs from where it is procured is one of the main factors that influence the differentiation potential of MSCs into insulin producing cells. WJ-MSCs are better antidiabetic agents than BM-MSCs, and are par to the standard diabetic drugs, coupled with potential to initiate pancreatic regeneration.