Mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from decidua tissue of the human placenta. The placentas were obtained from clinically normal pregnancies at gestational age, 34-41 weeks. Cultured cell have adipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic differentiation potential.
The decidua was mechanically peeled from the placenta, washed several times with phosphate buffered saline (PBS), to remove excess blood, and incubated with type I collagenase for three hours after being cut into small pieces. The mononuclear
cells were then collected by centrifugation. Cell pellets were washed and resuspended in α-minimum essential medium (αMEM), supplemented with fetal bovine serum (10%), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, 10 ng/ml ). The cells were seeded into a T75 tissue culture flask. After 3-5 days of culturing, the small digested residues were removed, and the adherent cells were cultured.