Thy-1 antigen on rat bone marrow cells: immunochemical and fine morphological studies

Immunochemical and fine morphological studies were conducted to clarify molecular characteristics of Thy-1 antigen on rat bone marrow cells and cell types expressing Thy-1 in rat bone marrow. For this purpose, a xenoantiserum highly specific for Thy-1 was prepared by immunizing rabbits with partially purified Thy-1 glycoprotein from rat brains. This antiserum reacted with approximately 90% of thymocytes, 10% of spleen cells, 30% of bone marrow cells and less than 2% of lymph node cells in normal rats, and the similar reactivity of this serum was also observed with spleen, lymph node and bone marrow cells obtained from congenitally athymic (rnu/rnu) rats. The anti-Thy-1 serum used in this study, as well as anti-asialo GM1, showed cytotoxic effect on natural killer (NK) cells in rats, suggesting that the NK cells, unlike those cells in mice, express both Thy-1 and asialo GM1. Immunoelectron microscopic observation performed on Thy-1 positive rat bone marrow cells showed that Thy-1 was expressed on immature cells ancestral to erythrocytes or granulocytes and on possible pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells as well as on bone marrow lymphocytes. It seems likely that an inverse relationship exists between Thy-1 expression and maturation of rat bone marrow cells including erythrocytic, granulocytic and lymphocytic cell series. Thy-1 antigen defined by our antiserum on rat bone marrow cells appears to be a sialoglycoprotein with 24 K molecular weight, which could be labeled by periodate-tritiated borohydride. The same antiserum precipitated a 27 K molecular weight sialoglycoprotein from rat thymocytes, which was regarded as the same molecular species as the 24 K molecular weight glycoprotein on rat bone marrow cells on the basis of data obtained from absorption studies.     

Analysis of rat hemopoietic cells on the fluorescence-activated cell sorter. I. Isolation of pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells and granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells

A scheme is presented whereby pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells (PHSC) from rat bone marrow can be enriched 320-fold with the aid of the fluorescence- activated cell sorter. This scheme is based on the observations that PHSC are strongly positive for Thy-1 antigen (upper 10th percentile); have light- scattering properties (size distribution) between those of bone marrow lymphocytes and myeloid progenitor cells; and are relatively resistant to cortisone. It is estimated that PHSC may constitute 80 percent of the cells isolated according to these parameters. Candidate PHSC are described at the light and electron microscopic levels. At least two populations of accessory cells appear to influence the number and/or the nature of the hemopoietic colonies that form in the in vivo spleen colony-forming unit assay. Putative amplifier cells are strongly Thy-1(+) and cortisone sensitive; putative suppressor cells are weakly Thy-1(+) and cortisone resistant. Three subsets of granulocyte (G) -macrophage (M) progenitor cells (in vitro colony-forming cells [CFC]) are identified on the basis of relative fluorescence intensity for Thy-1 antigen: G-CFC are strongly Thy-l(+); M-CFC are weakly Thy-l(+); and cells that produce mixed G and M CFC have intermediate levels of Thy-1. GM-cluster-forming cells and mature G and M are Thy-1(-). The results suggest that G-CFC are bipotential cells that give rise to G and M-CFC; and that the latter produce mature M through a cluster- forming cell intermediate. Thy-1 antigen is also demonstrated on members of the eosinophil, megakaryocyte, erythrocyte, and lymphocyte cell series in rat bone marrow. In each instance, the relative concentration of Thy-1 antigen is inversely related to the state of cellular differentiation.     

THE EFFECT OF HETEROLOGOUS ANTI-LYMPHOCYTE SERUM ON MOUSE HEMOPOIETIC STEM CELLS

The present study has demonstrated that rabbit anti-mouse lymphocyte serum (RAMLS) has the capability of destroying bone marrow cells and suppressing hemopoietic stem cell function. The in vitro incubation of bone marrow suspensions with RAMLS caused extensive cell lysis with an apparent preferential destruction of lymphoid, erythroid, and blastoid elements. Using the spleen colony assay, the number of functional hemopoietic stem cells was found to be markedly reduced in bone marrow populations exposed to RAMLS in vitro. Further, this loss of stem cell function could be produced by exposing marrow suspensions to small concentrations of antiserum which did not produce detectable cytotoxic effects on the general marrow population. A similar effect of RAMLS upon hemopoietic stem cells was found in vivo. The intravenous injection of RAMLS into lethally irradiated mice immediately after the infusion of isogeneic marrow cells reduced the number of spleen colonies formed, indicating that the antiserum could exhibit a deleterious effect upon stem cells in the bloodstream of the intact animal. Normal animals treated with daily subcutaneous injections of RAMLS for 3 wk had a significantly reduced marrow content of functional hemopoietic stem cells, suggesting that RAMLS can affect stem cells located in situ in the bone marrow. The experiments indicate that RAMLS possesses potential marrow toxicity.     

Proliferation and differentiation of highly enriched mouse hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells in response to defined growth factors

Three distinct hematopoietic populations derived from normal bone marrow were analyzed for their response to defined growth factors. The Thy-1loT- B- G- M-population, composing 0.2% of bone marrow, is 370-fold enriched for pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells. The two other populations, the Thy-1- T- B- G- M- and the predominantly mature Thy-1+ T+ B+ G+ M+ cells, lack stem cells. Thy-1loT- B- G- M- cells respond with a frequency of one in seven cells to IL-3 in an in vitro CFU-C assay, and give rise to many mixed colonies as expected from an early multipotent or pluripotent progenitor. The Thy-1- T- B- G- M- population also contains progenitor cells which responded to IL-3. However, colonies derived from Thy-1- T- B- G- M- cells are almost exclusively restricted to the macrophage/granulocyte lineages. This indicates that IL-3 can stimulate at least two distinct clonogenic early progenitor cells in normal bone marrow: multipotent Thy-1loT- B- G- M- cells and restricted Thy-1- T- B- G- M- cells. Thy-1loT- B- G- M-cells could not be stimulated by macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), granulocyte CSF (G-CSF) or IL-5 (Eosinophil-CSF). The hematopoietic precursors that react to these factors are enriched in the Thy-1- T- G- B- M- population. Thus, multipotent and restricted progenitors can be separated on the basis of the expression of the cell surface antigen Thy-1.     

Searching for hematopoietic stem cells: evidence that Thy-1.1lo Lin- Sca-1+ cells are the only stem cells in C57BL/Ka-Thy-1.1 bone marrow

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are defined in mice by three activities: they must rescue lethally irradiated mice (radioprotection), they must self-renew, and they must restore all blood cell lineages permanently. We initially demonstrated that HSCs were contained in a rare (approximately 0.05%) subset of bone marrow cells with the following surface marker profile: Thy-1.1lo Lin- Sca-1+. These cells were capable of long-term, multi-lineage reconstitution and radioprotection of lethally irradiated mice with an enrichment that mirrors their representation in bone marrow, namely, 1,000-2,000-fold. However, the experiments reported did not exclude the possibility that stem cell activity may also reside in populations that are Thy-1.1-, Sca-1-, or Lin+. In this article stem cell activity was determined by measuring: (a) radioprotection provided by sorted cells; (b) long-term, multi-lineage reconstitution of these surviving mice; and (c) long-term, multi-lineage reconstitution by donor cells when radioprotection is provided by coinjection of congenic host bone marrow cells. Here we demonstrate that HSC activity was detected in Thy-1.1+, Sca-1+, and Lin- fractions, but not Thy-1.1-, Sca-1-, or Lin+ bone marrow cells. We conclude that Thy-1.1lo Lin- Sca-1+ cells comprise the only adult C57BL/Ka-Thy-1.1 mouse bone marrow subset that contains pluripotent HSCs.     

The beta-galactosidase gene as a marker for hematopoietic reconstitution: individual cell analysis in a murine bone marrow transplantation model

We have used a simple, single-gene retrovirus carrying the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase reporter gene (lacZ), termed LlacZ. This virus was found to infect immortalized myeloid and lymphoid precursor/leukemic cell lines efficiently as well as primary murine bone marrow clonogenic progenitors, without apparent modulation of growth or phenotype. Following infection of bone marrow cells, a significant proportion of progenitors--36% of lineage-negative cells with low levels of c-kit expression (lin-/c-kit(lo)) known to be enriched with pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells, and 19% of Sca1-positive cells known to be enriched with transplantable cells with lymphomyeloid-reconstituting ability--were shown to express lacZ. Use of an LlacZ-infected population of post 5-fluorouracil bone marrow cells to reconstitute lethally irradiated mice demonstrated the presence of lacZ-expressing cells in the spleen at day 12 post-transplantation with provirus detected in individual spleen colonies (CFU-S). In the long term (3-6 months following transplantation), lacZ expression was detected in hematopoietic tissues of all recipient mice. The use of two-color in situ and flow cytometry analysis combined with lineage-specific antibodies showed lacZ expression in both myeloid and lymphoid cells in spleen and bone marrow. In addition, lacZ-expressing cells were detected in secondary recipient mice injected with bone marrow cells derived from primary LlacZ recipients. Overall, these data show the efficacy of a single gene vector for stem cell transduction, the utility of beta-galactosidase as a single cell marker for stem cell transduction and reconstitution ability, and the need for protocol optimization to see high-level multilineage gene expression.     

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase is found in prothymocytes

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase is an enzyme which has the unique property of polymerizing polydeoxynucleotides onto a primer in the absence of a template (1,2). This enzyme is found both in the thymus and the bone marrow of birds, rodents, and humans (3-7). Whether the marrow cells that contain terminal transferase are related to thymocytes, or are on a separate pathway of differentiation, is not yet known (7,8). To determine the lineage of the murine bone marrow cells that have terminal transferase, we have investigated whether these cells have the antigen Thy-1 induced on the cells by treatment with thymopoietin (9). Thymopoietin is known to induce a set of characteristic T-cell markers including the Thy-1 alloantigen on the surface of a subpopulation of bone marrow cells committed to T-cell differentiation (prothymocytes) (10). Destruction of Thy- 1-positive cells after exposure to thymopoietin allows elimination of a substantial fraction of those bone marrow cells that can repopulate an irradiated thymus (11). We find that such an elimination after induction with the thymic polypeptide removes a substantial amount of terminal transferase from the bone marrow cell population, suggesting that at least one-half of the marrow cells bearing this enzyme are related to those found in the thymus.     

Generation of cytolytic T lymphocytes in thymectomized, irradiated, and bone marrow-reconstituted mice

A model system has been developed to study extrathymic T cell differentiation. Mice have been thymectomized, lethally irradiated, and reconstituted with bone marrow cells depleted of Thy-1-positive cells. After 8 wk, the spleen cells of these 5athymic, bone marrow- reconstituted chimeras contain Thy-1-positive pre-cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) that are able to respond to antigen only when exogenous interleukin 2 is added to culture.. The phenotype of these pre-CTL is similar to that of thymocytes, suggesting that they may be an immature T cell. Initial evaluation of the CTL repertoire of these athymic mice demonstrates that the CTL generated to trinitrophenyl- modified syngeneic cells are H-2 restricted and that the CTL generated to alloantigens have many of the cross-reactivities observed in normal but not in nude mice. The discrepancies observed in the CTL repertoire between these thymectomized chimeras and nude mice are discussed.     

Hematopoietic reconstitution of irradiated,stem cell-injected mice: early dynamics of restoration of the cell lineages of the spleen and bone marrow

Hematopoietic stem cells, numbering approximately 1/100,000 cells in mammalian bone marrow, are capable of complete hematopoietic and immune reconstitution upon injection into a myeloablated host. The present study aimed to analyze the earliest events in reconstitution of lethally irradiated, host murine bone marrow and spleen, after injecting purified Thy 1(lo)Lin(-)Sca-1(+) stem cells. Thy-1(lo)Lin(-)Sca-1(+) cells were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) from the bone marrow of 4-week-old C57BL(Thy1.1, Ly5.1) mice and injected into preirradiated, syngeneic hosts. These stem cells were also injected into congenic hosts, i.e., C57BL(Thy1.2, Ly5.2), and confirmed the donor origin of hematopoietic cells in the reconstituted host mice. Hematologically stained smears of the spleen and bone marrow of stem cell-injected recipients were prepared at 11, 14, 17, 21, 24, and 28 days after stem cell injection, and nucleated erythroid cells, mature granulocytes, and their myeloid precursors, monocytes, and large and small lymphocytes were recorded as a proportion of all nucleated cells in each organ at each time interval. The results indicated that in the earliest post stem cell injection intervals, both organs were predominantly erythroid and myeloid. Only at the later intervals did both organs show high proportions of large lymphoid cells and their progeny, small lymphocytes. Thus, early (<1 month) dynamics of hematopoietic reconstitution after transplantation of purified hematopoietic stem cells, is cell lineage specific.     

The transplantation of neural stem cells and predictive factors in hematopoietic recovery in irradiated mice.

A number of surprising observations have shown that stem cells, in suitable conditions, have the ability to produce a whole spectrum of cell types, regardless, whether these tissues are derived from the same germ layer or not. This phenomenon is called stem cell plasticity, which means that tissue-specific stem cells are mutually interchangeable. In our experiments, as a model, we used neural stem cells (NSCs) harvested from fetal (E14-15) neocortex and beta-galactosidase positive. In the first experiment we found that on days 12 and 30 after sub-lethal irradiation (LD 8.5 Gy) and (beta-galactosidase(+)) NSCs transplantation all mice survived, just as the group with bone marrow transplantation. Moreover, the bone marrow of mice transplanted NSCs contained the number of CFU-GM colonies with beta-galactosidase(+) cells which was as much as 50% higher. These differences were statistically significant, p<0.001. In the second experiment, we studied kinetics of (beta-galactosidase(+)) NSCs after their transplantation to sub-lethally irradiated mice. Histochemistry of tissues was performed on days 12 and 30 post-transplantation, and beta-galactosidase(+) cells were detected with the help of histochemical examination of removed tissues (lung, liver, spleen, thymus, and skeletal muscle). In tissues removed on day 12 post-transplantation, we found a significantly higher number of beta-galactosidase(+) cells in the spleen and thymus on day 30. While we presumed the presence beta-galactosidase(+) cells in the spleen, as spleen and reticuloendothelial system represent an important retaining system for different cell types, the presence of beta-galactosidase(+) cells in the thymus was rather surprising but very interesting. This indicates a certain mutual and close interconnection of transplanted stem cells and immune system in an adult organism. In the third experiment, we verified the mutual interchange of Sca-1 surface antigen in the bone marrow cells and NSCs before transplantation. Analysis of this antigen showed 24.8% Sca-1 positive cells among the bone marrow cells, while NSCs were Sca-1 negative. Our experiments show that NSCs share hemopoietic identity and may significantly influence the recovery of damaged hematopoiesis but do not have typical superficial markers as HSCs. This result is important for the determination of predictive factors for hemopoiesis recovery, for stem cell plasticity and for their use in the cell therapy.     

Effects of splenectomy on the retention of Salmonella enteritidis and on the hemopoietic response to Salmonella infection

Salmonella infection induces a marked increase in the splenic granulopoiesis, but causes a reduction in hemopoiesis in the bone marrow. In this study, effects of Salmonella enteritidis infection on hemopoietic stem cells were examined in splenectomized (SX-) mice. Splenectomy emphasized hemopoietic damage in the bone marrow caused by Salmonella infection. Total nucleated cells, pluripotent stem cells (CFUs) and granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells (GM-CFC) in the bone marrow of SX-mice all decreased markedly compared with sham-splenectomized (NX-) mice, and the recovery from the decline was also delayed. Thus, neither enhancement of the granulopoiesis nor granulopoietic recovery in the bone marrow was observed to compensate the granulopoietic response in the spleen. Splenectomy also resulted in a longlasting retention of Salmonella in the liver. The observations indicate that the spleen is the major organ to respond to bacterial invasion in regard to enhanced granulopoiesis and hence enhanced bacterial clearance.     

Separation of pluripotent stem cells and early B lymphocyte precursors with antibody Fall-3

A major goal in the study of hematopoiesis is to obtain populations of primitive stem cells, free of restricted and mature cells. We previously showed that a small population of normal bone marrow, the Thy-1loLin- cells, was highly enriched for pluripotent stem cells that repopulate lethally irradiated mice. These cells also differentiated along the B lymphocyte lineage in response to the stromal elements in Whitlock-Witte cultures. These two hematopoietic activities were entirely contained in and were enriched to similar extents in the Thy-1loLin- population. Here we show for the first time that these two activities can be resolved functionally and phenotypically. The cells that respond to the stroma in lymphoid culture are more sensitive to the cytotoxic drug 5-Fluorouracil than are stem cells. Furthermore, we have derived a new monoclonal antibody, Fall-3, that detects primitive stem cells but does not label the B cell precursor. This indicates that the small Thy-1loLin- population is heterogeneous, containing precursors restricted to the B cell lineage as well as pluripotent stem cells. Antibody Fall-3 defines a novel stem cell antigen, expressed on all primitive stem cells and thus, will be useful in the further characterization and isolation of both stem cells and B cell precursors.     

Thymus reconstitution by c-kit-expressing hematopoietic stem cells purified from adult mouse bone marrow

The introduction of clonal assays and long-term culture systems has resulted in considerable progress in the understanding of the early events that control self-renewal and commitment to differentiation of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells (PHSC). Relatively little is known about the factors that control the commitment of PHSC to the lymphoid lineages, especially the T cell lineage. In the present study, the expression of the proto-oncogene c-kit was used to isolate and study the capacity of highly purified day 14 colony-forming units-spleen (CFU-S) to reconstitute the thymus of sublethally irradiated Thy-1 congenic recipient mice. We demonstrate here that one c-kit positive (c-kitpos) stem cell upon intrathymic transfer can effectively reconstitute the thymus of a sublethally irradiated recipient. After a lag phase of 15 d, high levels of donor-derived thymocytes (Thy-1.1pos) could be detected until 65 d after transplantation in Thy-1.2pos host mice. Donor-derived cells were only detected in the lobe of the thymus in which cells were previously injected and not in the noninjected lobe. These data suggest that c-kitpos stem cells do not migrate from one lobe to another and that they do not re-seed the thymus after having migrated to the bone marrow. The level and duration of reconstitution was found to be cell dose dependent, suggesting that, over time, endogenous stem cells compete with donor stem cells for available sites in the thymus microenvironment. The data presented in this paper demonstrate that commitment of purified adult bone marrow-derived c-kitpos stem cells to the T cell differentiation pathway can occur in the thymus and does not have to happen in the bone marrow.     

T cell function detected in murine bone marrow cells.

Mouse bone marrow cells were fractionated by BSA discontinuous density gradient centrifugation, and a small lymphocyte rich fraction was obtained at the high density. Cells of this fraction were shown to respond in vitro to T cell mitogens and alloantigens. Furthermore, they were able to mount a graft-versus-host reaction when assessed by spleen weight assay and by the method of inhibiting erythroid cell growth by allogeneic lymphoid cells. The results indicate that these lymphocytes possess T cell functions. On the other hand they were found to carry only little theta antigen assessed by the cytotoxic test and by the absorption test. It is presumed, therefore, that the amount of theta antigen on a cell might not correlate with T cell functions, and these lymphocytes might be mature ones in the course of postthymic maturation. Hemopoietic stem cells were determined by spleen colony formation and the peak of colony-forming efficiency was seen at the low density. These observations imply that immunocompetent cells causing GVHR can be separated from hemopoietic stem cells. This procedure may be applied for prevention and reduction of GVHR in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in human.     

The identification in adult bone marrow of pluripotent and restricted stem cells of the myeloid and lymphoid systems

The precise relationship between the stem cells for the lymphoid system and those for the blood-forming system is unclear. While it is generally assumed that the hemopoietic stem cell, the spleen colony-forming unit (CFU-S), is also the stem cell for the lymphoid system, there is little evidence for this hypothesis. To investigate the stem cells in these two systems, we irradiated bone marrow cells to induce unique chromosome aberrations in the stem cell population and injected them at limiting dilution into stem cell-deficient recipients. Several months (between 3 and 11) were allowed for the injected cells to repopulate the hemopoietic system. At that time, the bone marrow, spleen, and thymus were examined for a high frequency of cells having the same unique chromosome aberration. The presence of such markers shows that the marker was induced in a cell with extensive proliferative capacity, i.e., a stem cell. In addition, the splenic lymphocytes were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to search for unique chromosomes in dividing T and B cells, respectively. Finally, bone marrow cells were injected into secondary irradiated recipients to determine if the marker occurred in CFU-S and to determine whether or not the same tissue distributions of marked cells could be propogated by bone marrow cells in a second recipient. After examination of 28 primary recipients, it was possible to identify three unique patterns of stem cell regeneration. In one set of mice, a unique chromosome marker was observed in CFU-S and in PHA- and LPS-stimulated cultures. These mice provide direct evidence for a pluripotent stem cell in bone marrow. In addition, two restricted stem cells were identified by this analysis. In three recipients, abnormal karyotypes were found only in myeloid cells and not in B and T lymphocytes. These mice presumably received a marked stem cell restricted to differentiate only into myeloid progeny. In three other recipients, chromosome aberrations were found only in PHA-stimulated cells; CFU-S and cells from LPS cultures did not have cells with the unique chromosome. This pattern suggests that bone marrow contains cells committed to differentiation only into T lymphocytes. For each of the three types of stem cells, secondary recipients had the same cellular distribution of marked cells as the primary recipients. This observation provides further evidence that unique markers can be induced in both pluripotent and restricted stem cells.     

全骨髓贴壁接触培养SD大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞

背景：体外分离培养出生长状态好、高纯度、增殖能力强和数量充足的大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞,是将其作为种子细胞用于组织和细胞移植的重要前提。 目的：建立简便、快速、有效的SD大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞体外分离培养方法,并观察其生物学特性。 方法：采用全骨髓法将 SD 大鼠双侧股骨和胫骨骨髓细胞进行体外分离培养,贴壁接种法进行细胞纯化、传代。观察细胞生长形态及特征,绘制细胞生长曲线,检测细胞表面标记物,采用体外诱导剂诱导细胞分别向成骨、成软骨、成脂方向分化。 结果与结论：全骨髓贴壁接种法分离培养的骨髓间充质干细胞生长旺盛、纯度高,细胞生长形态呈长梭形,极性排列,细胞生长呈S形生长曲线,群体倍增时间为29 h,细胞在连续传10代后仍具有较强的增殖能力。第3代骨髓间充质干细胞的表面标记物CD44、CD29、CD90均呈阳性表达,CD45、CD34、CD11b则呈阴性表达。第3代骨髓间充质干细胞分别经成骨、成软骨、成脂诱导剂诱导后,茜素红染色、碱性磷酸酶染色、von-kossa矿化结节染色、甲苯胺蓝染色和油红O染色均呈阳性。结果验证全骨髓贴壁接种法是一种简便可靠的体外分离培养方法,能获得纯度较高的骨髓间充质干细胞,经实验鉴定第3代骨髓间充质干细胞生物活性最佳,且具有多向诱导分化能力,适合作为后续实验的种子细胞。     

Developmental potential of the earliest precursor cells from the adult mouse thymus.

A new, numerically minute population of cells representing the earliest T precursor cells in the adult mouse thymus has recently been isolated. This population has been shown to be similar to bone marrow hemopoietic stem cells in surface antigenic phenotype and to express moderate levels of CD4. We now show, by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and intrathymic transfer to irradiated mice, that this apparently homogeneous population differs from multipotent stem cells in expressing the surface stem cell antigen 2 (Sca-2), that it differs from most early B lineage cells in lacking B220 and class II major histocompatibility complex expression, and that it binds rhodamine 123 like an activated rather than a quiescent cell. Irradiated recipient mice differing at the Ly 5 locus were used to compare the developmental potential of these early intrathymic precursors with bone marrow stem cells. Only T lineage product cells were detected when the intrathymic precursor population was transferred back into an irradiated thymus. However, when the intrathymic precursor population was transferred intravenously, it displayed the capacity to develop into both B and T lymphoid cells in recipient bone marrow, spleen, and lymph nodes, but no donor-derived myeloid cells were detected. The absence of myeloid and erythroid precursor activity was confirmed by showing that the intrathymic precursor population was unable to develop into myeloid or erythroid spleen colonies on intravenous transfer or to form colonies in an agar culture. These findings indicate that this earliest intrathymic precursor population has become restricted (or strongly biased) to lymphoid lineage development, but not exclusively to T lymphocytes.     

Focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, a type of intractable chronic glomerulonephritis, is a stem cell disorder

The etiopathogenesis of focal and segmental glomerular sclerosis (FGS) remains unknown. Using a new animal model for FGS (FGS mouse), we demonstrate here that bone marrow transplantation from normal mice to FGS mice with a high grade of proteinuria (+ + +) ameliorates FGS, and that the transplantation of bone marrow cells or purified hemopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from FGS mice induces FGS in normal mice. These findings strongly suggest that FGS is a stem cell disorder; the abnormalities may be genetically programmed at the level of HSCs.     

Identification and unusual tissue distribution of the canine and human homologues of Thy-1 (theta)

The tissue distribution of the canine and human homologues of Thy-1 were studied using quantitative absorption analyses of liver absorbed anti-brain xenosera assayed on thymus cells. Cross-reactivity studies with pure rat Thy-1 established that the assays were detecting the homologues of rat Thy-1. The results showed that the tissue distribution of Thy-1 varies remarkably between species. Canine Thy-1 was found in large amounts only on adult brain. It was present in much smaller amounts on thymus (8% compared with brain), and was also found on lymph node, spleen and bone marrow (3, 1 and 0.5%, respectively, compared with brain). Surprisingly, it was found on kidney in amounts equal to that on thymus. Studies with the fluorescence-activated cell sorter established that canine Thy-1 was present on all thymocytes and peripheral T lymphocytes. Neonatal thymus and kidney had adult levels of Thy-1, but only small amounts of Thy-1 were present on neonatal brain. In man, brain was again the only tissue to contain large amounts of Thy-1. Surprisingly, it was absent from human thymus, and present on human kidney in amounts roughly equivalent to that seen in the dog. It was absent from spleen, lymph node, bone marrow, liver, heart, erythrocytes, platelets, and serum. Cross-reactivity studies showed that dog and human Thy-1 showed extensive serological cross-reaction, and that the dog-rat and human-rat cross-reactive components were identical.     

骨髓间充质干细胞中大鼠白细胞介素10复制缺陷型重组腺病毒的表达

背景:研究显示,白细胞介素10在脓毒症等炎性疾病发挥了抑制炎症反应、促进疾病转归的重要作用。目的:构建大鼠白细胞介素10重组腺病毒,并以骨髓间充质干细胞为基因载体,观察外源基因在细胞中的表达情况。方法:采用反转录-聚合酶链反应方法从SD大鼠新鲜脾脏组织中提取出的总RNA中克隆大鼠白细胞介素10基因,通过AdEasy系统成功包装、扩增并纯化出含目的基因的重组腺病毒颗粒。取大鼠骨髓细胞,利用密度梯度离心法和贴壁法分离并扩增骨髓间充质干细胞,并使用流式细胞仪进行表型鉴定。以不同感染倍数的Ad.rIL-10/Ad.GFP感染骨髓间充质干细胞,在荧光显微镜下观察感染效率,并用反转录-聚合酶链反应和Weaternblot方法检测目的基因在大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞中的表达。结果与结论:成功构建了重组腺病毒Ad.rIL-10,计算病毒滴度为6.0×1010pfu/mL。重组腺病毒Ad.rIL-10对骨髓间充质干细胞有较高的转染效率,当感染复数=200时为70%。提示含外源基因大鼠白细胞介素10的骨髓间充质干细胞持续高效地表达目的基因,是基因治疗的良好细胞载体。