Aim and Background: Various factors, such as sexual diseases, spinal cord injuries and radiotherapy after cancers, cause insufficient or lack of sperm production and lead to men infertility. Today, treatment of many diseases has been made possible by therapeutic cell technology with mesenchymal stem cells. Meanwhile, mesenchymal stem cells of human umbilical cord Wharton's Jelly, have been considered as a source that is abundantly available and not rejected by immune system. The first step in using these cells is to confirm they are stem cells. Therefore, in this study stemness of these cells were investigated by expression of CD34, CD44, CD105 genes.

Method: Stem cells were isolated from umbilical cord Wharton's jelly and cultured. Total RNA was extracted from cells of the third passage. After synthesis of cDNA, expression of some genes was evaluated by RT-PCR technique. The mesenchymal stem cells were exposed to different doses of BMP4, conditioned medium obtained from testicular cells of newborn mice and a layer of PLLA Nanofiber. Then differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to germ-like cells was evaluated by different techniques.

Results: The results showed that these cells have considerable potential for proliferation and expression of CD105, CD44 genes before differentiation, but the expression of CD34 gene, a marker for hematopoietic cells, was not seen. The exposure of these cells to differentiation medium after the third passage, leads them toward germ-like cells.

Discussion: Laboratory culture and proliferation of germ-like cells derived from other sources of stem cells such as umbilical cord Wharton's Jelly is a new method for initial research about development of germ cells. Umbilical cord stem cells with expression of stemness specific genes can be used for treatment of men infertility as a new strategy.