Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) are attracting more and more attention due to their tissue regenerative properties and immunomodulatory functions. MSCs may be the most acceptable, safe, and effective source for allogeneic cell therapy, and have been used in medical treatment. However, the similarities and differences between umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UC-MSCs) of heterosexual twins remain poorly understood. In this study, we compared the biological characteristics of UC-MSCs of heterosexual twins in vitro. We found that male fetal UC-MSCs and female fetal UC-MSCs share a similar phenotype and multi-lineage differentiation potential, and male fetal UC-MSCs show a significantly higher proliferation and adipogenic ability than female fetal UC-MSCs. UC-MSCs from heterosexual twins showed significant differences in the expression levels of NANOG, OCT4, TERT, and SOX2. In addition, male MSCs are more potent in the expression of inflammatory cytokines to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation. In future clinical applications using MSCs for inflammation-related diseases, these biological characteristics differences with different genders will guide our clinical methods.

间充质基质/干细胞（MSC）由于其组织的再生特性和免疫调节功能而受到越来越多的关注。MSC可能是同种异体细胞疗法最可接受，最安全，最有效的来源，并已用于医学治疗。然而，对异性双胞胎的脐带来源的MSC（UC-MSC）之间的异同仍然知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们比较异性双胞胎的UC-MSC的生物学特性体外。我们发现，男性胎儿UC-MSC与女性胎儿UC-MSC具有相似的表型和多谱系分化潜能，并且男性胎儿UC-MSCs的增殖和成脂能力明显高于女性胎儿UC-MSCs。来自异性双胞胎的UC-MSC在NANOG，OCT4，TERT和SOX2的表达水平上显示出显着差异。另外，雄性MSC在炎症细胞因子表达中对脂多糖（LPS）诱导的炎症更有效。在将来使用MSC处理炎症相关疾病的临床应用中，这些性别不同的生物学特征差异将指导我们的临床方法。