الفهرس 
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Abstract
Introduction: Human umbilical cord tissue namely Wharton’s jelly is one of the rich sources of mesenchymal stem cells. MSCs are pluripotent cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types including neural and dopaminergic cells. Thus MSCs hold great promise for different neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease which result from the dysfunction and chronic degeneration of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra of the mesencephalon. This work was aimed to study the efficacy of WJ-MSCs to differentiate into dopamine neurons by using the determination of dopamine level. Methods: MSCs were isolated from Wharton’s jelly and cultured in the primary culture media. After passage 3 cells were divided into two groups, first group of cells were induced to differentiate into dopamine neurons in the presence of neurobasal media and second group was induced in the presence of neurobasal media and all trans retinoic acid (ATRA). MSCs were analyzed for surface cell markers CD90, CD73, CD34 and CD45 by flow cytometery. Dopamine differentiated cells were investigated by using Immunocytochemistry and ELISA.<>Results: Flow cytometery analysis showed that MSCs were positive for CD90 and CD73 and negative for CD45 and CD34. Immunocytochemistry staining showed that the cells treated with ATRA were strongly expressed for MAP-2 and showed less expression for cells treated with neurobasal media only. Results from ELISA indicated that dopamine levels were markedly increased in the ATRA-treated groups. Conclusion: MSCs derived from Wharton’s jelly can be proliferated and differentiated into dopaminergic neurons in the presence of ATRA invitro which may be provide an alternative source to cell therapy in treatment of Parkinson’s disease.