Our technology
Once injected into the animal, the cells are activated by the inflammatory environment present in the damaged tissues. Following activation, the cells secrete various cytokines that trigger an anti-inflammatory cascade, improving the animal's clinical symptoms and promoting tissue regeneration.
Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent cells with the ability to differentiate into various tissues such as osteocytes (bone cells) and chondrocytes (cartilage cells).
Mesenchymal stem cells are present in many tissues, such as adipose tissue, bone marrow, umbilical cord, etc. Mesenchymal cells are responsible for tissue repair and regeneration in the body.
Thanks to biotechnology, these cells can be isolated and cultured in vitro in order to be used in other patients as regenerative medicine treatments.
Umbilical cord stem cells offer significant advantages that make them an ideal source for cell therapy treatments.
Thanks to their unique characteristics, umbilical cord cells allow for a higher quality, safer, and more effective product at a lower manufacturing cost.
MSC extraction from the umbilical cord (both tissue and blood) is performed after the animal is born, without manipulation or intervention in the animal's natural birthing process, making it a non-invasive tissue extraction. Extracting cells from tissue through a non-invasive process avoids subjecting the animal to a painful procedure, thus preventing risks associated with tissue extraction such as the effects of sedation or scarring, and is in line with the highest standards of animal welfare.
The umbilical cords used in the manufacture of our products come exclusively from top-tier stud farms. These farms must have suitable facilities for the gestation, foaling, and lactation of our donors, a permanent veterinarian, and a health program that guarantees the optimal health and well-being of our foals. Thanks to our non-invasive process, the collection of the cells is 100% in line with the highest animal welfare standards. After birth, both the mare and the foal are monitored by a veterinarian who ensures their proper health and development. Once the cords have been donated, our foals continue their normal growth alongside their mothers.
The number of mesenchymal stem cells that can be obtained from invasive sources is very limited. Only between 0.001% and 0.01% of mononuclear cells are considered MSCs after peripheral blood or bone marrow extraction, while only 5,000 cells can be found per gram of adipose tissue. In contrast, the number of cells in umbilical cord tissue (Wharton's jelly) is 50,000 per centimeter. In addition to the higher number of cells per gram of tissue, umbilical cord MSCs have a greater proliferative capacity compared to other tissue sources (Kalaszcynska et al., 2015).
The ability to modulate the immune response makes umbilical cord cells an excellent source of cells for allogeneic use. The mechanism by which stem cells are considered immunoprivileged is under constant investigation; however, the low expression of MHC-I and MHC-II surface markers protects them from attack by Natural Killer (NK) cells. On the other hand, MHC-II positivity in cells derived from adult tissues (bone marrow) is highly heterogeneous, reaching up to 85% positivity; however, MHC-II expression in equine umbilical cord cells is clearly negative (<1%) (Schnabel, 2013)(Schanabel et al., 2014).
Thanks to working with a tissue as rich in MSCs as the equine umbilical cord and of such a large size (~1 kg), the number of MSCs obtained from a single umbilical cord is much greater than that obtained from any other tissue source. This large number of cells obtained at zero passage (P0) allows for more efficient cell expansion without the need for excessive cell duplication. It is well known that as cells duplicate in culture, they lose differentiation, immunomodulatory, and therapeutic capacity; therefore, avoiding excessive cell growth has a direct impact on drug efficacy. (Crisostomo et al., 2006).
Umbilical cord stem cells are considered safer than cells from other tissues for several reasons. First, because the tissue is collected at the time of the animal's birth, the donor cells are not exposed to the donor's environment or other infectious agents that could affect the donor, significantly reducing the risk of infection with foreign viruses (Nagamura-Inoue et al., 2014). Second, the cells are not exposed to changes resulting from the donor's age or the environment, so the risk of genetic and chromosomal alterations is much lower than with adult stem cell sources.
The mechanism of action (MoA) of mesenchymal stem cells is complex, multifactorial, and not fully understood. Initially, it was thought that their efficacy lay in their inherent capacity for differentiation and adhesion to tissues; however, it is now known that this capacity in vivo is limited.
Today it has been determined that the mechanism of action of MSCs is based mainly on the paracrine capacity and the secretion of immunomodulatory factors that act on cells and tissues, generating an anti-inflammatory and regenerative environment.
Once injected into the animal, the cells are activated by the inflammatory environment present in the damaged tissues. Following activation, the cells secrete various cytokines that trigger an anti-inflammatory cascade, improving the animal's clinical symptoms and promoting tissue regeneration.
At EquiCord, we have conducted in vitro studies demonstrating the immunomodulatory capacity of EUC-MSCs. This capacity provides a significant local anti-inflammatory effect, resulting in a substantial reduction in lameness and pain.
