Study of possible correlations between in vitro growth of bone marrow stromal and hematopoietic precursor cells early after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

Growth characteristics of stromal cells, assessed as adherent cells in long-term bone marrow cultures, and of hematopoietic progenitor cells, prior to and shortly after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT), were investigated, more specifically with regard to their possible correlations. The main constituent cells of the bone marrow stroma, that is, endothelial cells, reticular cells/fibroblasts, and monocytes/macrophages, showed an as yet inexplicable increased growth in samples taken from recipients prior to BMT, as compared with the growth in samples from their healthy donors and those taken after BMT. In the third week after BMT the in vitro outgrowth of hematopoietic precursors was severely depressed, but cell numbers in the adherent layer were normal. No relationship between in vitro growth of hematopoietic precursor cells and stromal cells was observed at that time. Probably the precursor cells growing in vitro are committed progenitor cells, relatively independent of stromal influences. In the eight week after grafting, endothelial cell outgrowth in vitro was highly correlated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming unit (CFU-GM) colony formation and to a lesser extent with mixed-lineage colony-forming unit (CFU-Mix) colony formation. This may indicate the reappearance of cytokine-mediated influences or the reappearance of a direct interaction, for example, by cell-cell contact between stromal cells and hematopoietic progenitor cells at that time.     

A tumor necrosis factor-responsive long-term-culture-initiating cell is associated with the stromal layer of mouse long-term bone marrow cultures.

Long-term bone marrow cultures provide a model for the study of hematopoiesis. Both an intact, adherent stromal layer and hematopoietic stem cells are necessary components in these cultures. Mycophenolic acid treatment of mouse long-term bone marrow cultures depletes them of all assayable hematopoietic precursors. The residual stromal cells are functional and support hematopoiesis if new progenitor cells are supplied. We now show that these mycophenolic acid-treated stromal cell cultures contain cells capable of hematopoietic differentiation without the addition of new progenitors. When treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha (20-200 units/ml), the apparently pure stromal cultures undergo an intense burst of hematopoietic activity. After 4 days such cultures contain approximately 2 x 10(6) hematopoietic cells and, by 1 week, they are indistinguishable from control long-term cultures that were not treated with mycophenolic acid. These results suggest that the stromal cultures either contain hematopoietic stem cells that are maintained quiescent and mycophenolic acid-resistant, perhaps by intimate contact with the stroma, or contain adherent cells that can be induced to differentiate into hematopoietic stem cells. These stem cells are primitive, in that they are capable of multilineage development in the long-term cultures, but are unable to form spleen colonies or myeloid colonies in semisolid medium. These data demonstrate that the adherent fraction of cultured bone marrow contains very primitive hematopoietic cells and that tumor necrosis factor alpha activates their proliferation and differentiation. They also suggest a strategy for obtaining the earliest progenitors free of other, more mature cell types.     

B lymphocyte precursors and myeloid progenitors survive in diffusion chamber cultures but B cell differentiation requires close association with stromal cells

The aim of this study was to investigate the relative contribution of direct contact with stromal cells v stromal cell-derived soluble mediators to the differentiation of B lymphocytes and cells from other hematopoietic lineages. This was investigated by making a comparison between hemopoietic cells grown in direct contact with stroma to those in diffusion chambers (DCs) placed over purified populations of stroma. The source of stromal cells was adherent layers from myeloid or lymphoid long-term bone marrow cultures that had been treated with mycophenolic acid, an antibiotic that depletes hemopoietic cells from the cultures but retains a functional stroma. The cells seeded into the chambers were fresh marrow cells that had been passed through two consecutive nylon wool columns to deplete cell populations capable of forming an adherent cell layer in vitro. DCs were placed in wells in which the adherent stroma, growing under myeloid or lymphoid conditions, was present. The results indicate that progenitors of granulocytes and macrophages survived and differentiated in DCs under myeloid culture conditions, as the number of cells and absolute number of CFU-GM increased over that present in the reseed population. These levels, however, were markedly less than in parallel cultures in which the cells were seeded directly onto stroma. Hematopoiesis in DCs placed over hemopoietically active stroma was not optimal, suggesting that factors were used by those hemopoietic cells closest to the stroma. A B lymphocyte precursor survived in DCs under myeloid but not lymphoid conditions, and its differentiation into B lymphocytes was dependent on close association with stromal cells; B lymphopoiesis initiated when cells from DCs grown under myeloid conditions were harvested from the chambers and seeded directly onto stroma initiated and maintained under lymphoid bone marrow culture conditions. B lymphopoiesis did not initiate if the DC from the myeloid conditions was left intact and placed directly over a lymphoid stromal cell layer in lymphoid conditions.     

Basic fibroblast growth factor stimulates myelopoiesis in long-term human bone marrow cultures

We previously showed that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a potent mitogen for human bone marrow (BM) stromal cells and significantly delays their senescence. In the present study, we demonstrated that low concentrations of bFGF (0.2 to 2 ng/mL) enhance myelopoiesis in long-term human BM culture. Addition of bFGF to long-term BM cultures resulted in an increase in (a) the number of nonadherent cells (sixfold), particularly those of the neutrophil granulocyte series; (b) the number of nonadherent granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)- and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-responsive progenitor cells; (c) the number of adherent foci of hematopoietic cells (10-fold); and (d) the number of progenitor cells in the adherent stromal cell layer. These effects were not noted with higher concentrations of bFGF (20 ng/mL). Thus, low concentrations of bFGF effectively augment myelopoiesis in human long-term BM cultures, and bFGF may therefore be a regulator of the hematopoietic system in vitro and in vivo.     

Proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells in human long-term bone marrow cultures is stimulated by interleukin-1 beta

To study the effect of interleukin-1 (IL-1) beta on the proliferation of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) in long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMC), stromal cell layers were established from normal human bone marrow. Autologous cryopreserved mononuclear phagocyte- and T-lymphocyte-depleted bone marrow cells were reinoculated on the stromal layers in fresh culture medium, with or without the addition of human IL-1 beta (30 U/mL). Once a week, half of the culture supernatant was replaced with fresh culture medium with or without IL-1, and all nonadherent cells were returned to the flasks. At weekly intervals during a period of 5 weeks, one culture was sacrificed to determine the total number of cells and hematopoietic progenitor cells, present in the adherent and the nonadherent cell fractions. In IL-1-stimulated cultures, the number of cells recovered during a period of 5 weeks exceeded the number of cells in unstimulated control cultures by 1.5 times. This difference was attributed to a twofold increase in the number of adherent cells. The number of HPC recovered from IL-1- stimulated cultures was not different from that recovered from controls. The levels of colony-stimulating activity (CSA) in supernatants from IL-1-stimulated cultures were significantly higher than those in supernatants from control cultures. These results indicate that IL-1 enhances the recovery of cells in LTBMC by stimulating the proliferation of HPC with the concurrent release of CSA from stromal cells, without diminishing the number of HPC.     

Morphological and functional characteristics of short-term and long-term bone marrow cultures in chronic myelogenous leukemia

Clonogenic capacity of bone marrow progenitors and stromal layers established from bone marrow of 12 patients with CML and 13 healthy controls were evaluated. The initial BFU-E and CFU-GM contents were slightly higher in the CML patients (p > 0.05) in contrast to CFU-GEMM. CFU-GEMM was lower in the patients compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001). In long-term cultures, the number of non-adherent cell population and total clonogenic progenitor cell content decreased gradually in both groups. Weekly evaluation of stromal confluency of adherent cells revealed that establishment of adherent stromal layer was slower in CML patients than in control samples (p < 0.05). At the end of fourth week, the number of samples presenting confluency was 41.7% in the CML group compared with 92.3% in the controls. The initial CD34 positive cell content of the bone marrow samples was similar in both groups. Although CD34 positive cell number in the adherent stromal layer was well preserved in the control group at the end of 4 weeks, this figure decreased significantly in the CML group. The numbers of total adherent cells as well as the total clonogenic progenitor content of adherent layer were also lower in the CML group (3.03% vs 98.2%). When normal CD34+ cells were cultured on IFN-alpha-treated stromal layer followed by the assessment of the long-term culture initiating cells, a reduced capacity to support hemopoietic growth was observed with IFN-alpha-treated normal stroma. This reduction was even higher when CML stroma was treated with IFN-alpha followed by the seeding of the normal CD34+ cells on this stromal layer (26.9% vs 42.8%). These findings show that stromal cells are abnormal in CML patients as well as the progenitor cells, and IFN-alpha treatment causes further defects of the stromal cells.     

Correlation between nicotine-induced inhibition of hematopoiesis and decreased CD44 expression on bone marrow stromal cells.

This study demonstrates that in vivo exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) and in vitro treatment of long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMCs) with nicotine, a major constituent of CS, result in inhibition of hematopoiesis. Nicotine treatment significantly delayed the onset of hematopoietic foci and reduced their size. Furthermore, the number of long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-ICs) within an adherent layer of LTBMCs was significantly reduced in cultures treated with nicotine. Although the production of nonadherent mature cells and their progenitors in nicotine-treated LTBMCs was inhibited, this treatment failed to influence the proliferation of committed hematopoietic progenitors when added into methylcellulose cultures. Bone marrow stromal cells are an integral component of the hematopoietic microenvironment and play a critical role in the regulation of hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and self-renewal. Exposure to nicotine decreased CD44 surface expression on primary bone marrow-derived fibroblastlike stromal cells and MS-5 stromal cell line, but not on hematopoietic cells. In addition, mainstream CS altered the trafficking of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) in vivo. Exposure of mice to CS resulted in the inhibition of HSPC homing into bone marrow. Nicotine and cotinine treatment resulted in reduction of CD44 surface expression on lung microvascular endothelial cell line (LEISVO) and bone marrow-derived (STR-12) endothelial cell line. Nicotine treatment increased E-selectin expression on LEISVO cells, but not on STR-12 cells. These findings demonstrate that nicotine can modulate hematopoiesis by affecting the functions of the hematopoiesis-supportive stromal microenvironment, resulting in the inhibition of bone marrow seeding by LTC-ICs and interfering with stem cell homing by targeting microvascular endothelial cells.     

Hematopoietic damage prior to PBSCT and its influence on hematopoietic recovery.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Patients with malignancies receive chemotherapy to induce tumor remission which could damage hematopoiesis and adversely influence hematopoietic reconstitution after transplantation. In the present study we used a long-term culture (LTBMC) system and clonogenic assays to evaluate the marrow damage in patients selected to receive peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). DESIGN AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients - 20 with breast cancer (BC), 9 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 6 with Hodgkin's disease (HD) - were included. Bone marrow aspiration was performed one day prior to the initiation of the conditioning therapy. CFU-GM were cultured in methylcellulose with PHA-LCM. Delta assays of plastic adherent progenitor cells (PD) were performed according to Gordon's method. LTBMC were established for 5 weeks. RESULTS: There were fewer CFU-GM from all patient groups than from normal BM (p<0.05). In contrast, the number of immature progenitor cells (PD) was not decreased. The total number of CFU-GM produced by LTBMC patients was significantly reduced (p<0.05). The adherent layer from patients was often qualitatively different. In order to know whether the hematopoietic damage could affect hematopoietic reconstitution, we correlated culture data with time taken to reach peripheral cell counts. A negative correlation (r= - 0.71) was found between percentage of stromal layer and time taken to reach 20x10(9) platelets/L (tplat= 20x3-0.08% stromal layer). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: We can conclude that prior to PBSCT, hematopoietic function is impaired at both the level of committed progenitor cells and that of BM stroma. This damage could influence platelet recovery.     

The hematopoietic defect in aplastic anemia assessed by long-term marrow culture

Thirty-two patients with aplastic anemia (AA) have been studied using the long-term bone marrow culture (LTBMC) system. Of these patients, 26 had been treated with immunosuppressive therapy including antilymphocyte globulin (ALG) with or without androgens or high-dose methyl prednisolone. The remaining six patients either required no treatment or were studied before therapy was begun. Thirty-one of 32 patients (96%) had defective hematopoiesis in LTBMC with little or no evidence for the generation of primitive progenitor cells. The only exception was a patient with spontaneous recovery of aplasia in whom the defect was less marked. Crossover LTBMC experiments were performed in 23 cases by inoculating (1) patient marrow hematopoietic cells that had been depleted of adherent cells onto preformed, irradiated, normal stromas to assess the proliferative capacity of the hematopoietic cells, and (2) normal marrow hematopoietic cells that were depleted of adherent cells onto preformed, irradiated stromas from patients with AA to assess stromal function. Results of these experiments demonstrated a hematopoietic defect in all patients that was independent of the degree of hematologic recovery after ALG therapy. Only one patient had a probable stromal defect and this coexisted with a defect in the regenerative capacity of hematopoietic cells. We conclude that LTBMC is a sensitive method for detecting and defining the hematopoietic failure in AA. We suggest that the defective hematopoiesis present in all patients studied may be important in the pathogenesis of clonal evolution in AA.     

CD34 expression by stromal precursors in normal human adult bone marrow.

Normal bone marrow cells were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) on the basis of CD34 antigen expression and then assayed in vitro for colonies of fibroblastic cells (fibroblast colony-forming units [CFU-F]). Greater than 95% of detectable CFU-F were recovered in the CD34+ population, while their numbers were markedly depleted in the CD34- population. Additional experiments showed that the majority of CFU-F exhibited high forward and perpendicular light scatter and low-density CD34 antigen. Growth of sorted cells in medium optimized for long-term marrow culture (LTMC) produced a complex mixture of adherent stromal elements including fibroblasts, adipocytes, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages. Monoclonal antibody STRO-1, which identifies bone marrow stromal cells, reacted with approximately 5% of CD34+ cells, which included all CFU-F and stromal precursors in LTMC. Experiments using soybean agglutinin (SBA) further showed that these stromal elements were restricted to a population of bone marrow cells with the phenotype CD34+/SBA+. These properties of stromal precursors are quite distinct from those of primitive hematopoietic progenitors, showing that although the precursors of the hematopoietic and stromal systems share expression of CD34, they are otherwise phenotypically distinct cell types.     

Long-term human blood cultures: application to circulating progenitor cell autografting

Peripheral blood cells collected by cytapheresis from patients with acute leukemia following induction therapy or with multiple myeloma off-therapy, were maintained in a one-stage long-term liquid culture system. The data indicate that: (1) blood-derived granulopoietic proliferation can be sustained for up to 8 weeks with generation of CFU-GM in a way similar to bone marrow cells; and (2) this normal hematopoiesis can be sustained in spite of the absence of any development of a substantial stromal adherent layer, which suggests that, unlike hematopoiesis from bone marrow, the blood-derived non-adherent cell population is a self-sustaining compartment. While autologous transplantation with peripheral progenitor cells is gaining importance as an alternative to autologous bone marrow transplantation, this study suggests that circulating progenitor cells may have a different behavior from marrow cells. This observation may be relevant to the understanding of cases of defective hematopoietic reconstitution.     

Fibronectin-mediated attachment of hematopoietic cells to stromal elements in continuous bone marrow culture

Hematopoiesis in continuous bone marrow culture is dependent upon close-range interaction between hematopoietic cells and marrow-derived adherent cells. The latter have been shown to include a significant proportion of fibroblastic elements, synthesizing the attachment protein fibronectin. The role of fibronectin in continuous bone marrow culture was therefore investigated. Continuous marrow cultures were stained by the peroxidase-anti-peroxidase technique, using an affinity-purified anti-fibronectin antibody. The stained cultures were then examined by transmission electron microscopy for the presence of fibronectin at sites of cellular attachment. Fibronectin was detected on the substratum attachment surfaces of marrow-derived adherent cells and at sites of interaction between stromal elements in the adherent layer. Fibronectin was also detected at many attachment sites between marrow-derived adherent cells and developing granulocytes and monocytes. The possible significance of these observations is discussed in relation to the hematopoietic microenvironment.     

Simian virus 40-transformed adherent cells from human long-term marrow cultures: cloned cell lines produce cells with stromal and hematopoietic characteristics

Adherent cells from long-term marrow cultures from 23 individuals were transformed with wild-type simian virus 40 (SV40). After transformation, cloned cell lines were developed that even after rigorous subcloning invariably produced both stromal cells and round cells. The stromal cells expressed cytoskeletal filaments similar to those of long-term marrow culture adherent cells and produced interstitial and basal lamina collagen types. The round cells had the electron microscopic appearance of primitive hematopoietic cells and when examined with cytochemical stains and monoclonal antibodies to hematopoietic differentiation antigens had reaction patterns suggestive of cells from several lineages. Most round cells expressed the pan- hematopoietic T-200 determinant, and lesser percentages expressed the early T cell antigens CD-1 and CD-3, HLA-DR determinants, the monocytic antigen recognized by Leu M3, and the myeloid antigens detected by monoclonal antibodies 1G10 and 12.8. In addition, when plated in semisolid medium in the presence of a source of colony-stimulating activity, up to 11% of the cells formed colonies consisting of blastlike cells that also expressed hematopoietic cell surface determinants. The data suggest that adherent cells in long-term marrow cultures contain a cell that after transformation by SV40 obligately produces cells with hematopoietic as well as stromalike features.     

Expression of a selectable gene transferred by a retroviral vector to hematopoietic stem cells and stromal cells in murine continuous bone marrow cultures

Retroviral-mediated gene transfer to multipotent and committed hematopoietic stem cells and marrow stromal cells was evaluated in long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMCs). The retroviral vector pZIP-Neo(SV)(X) carrying the bacterial neomycin resistance (neor) gene that confers resistance to the neomycin analog G418 in mammalian cells was packaged in a Moloney envelope either as a replication-competent or replication-defective virus. Virus was introduced by infection of long-term marrow cultures at day 7. During a period of 12 weeks in culture, 10%-50% of harvested hematopoietic progenitor cells that formed differentiated CFU-GEMM colonies in response to pokeweed mitogen-containing spleen cell-conditioned medium (SCCM) and erythropoietin expressed the neor gene. In contrast, 1%-10% of hematopoietic progenitor cells that formed colonies in agar in response to WEHI-3B- or L-cell-conditioned medium expressed resistance to G418. The percentage of resistant progenitors was not detectably enhanced when replication-competent Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) was present as helper virus, even though M-MuLV infected greater than 90% of cells in the long-term marrow cultures. In a separate CFU-F assay, 12%-17% of the adherent stromal cells in LTBMCs were found to express the neor gene. Thus gene transfer is limited by the fraction of progenitor cells that can integrate and express the transferred genetic sequences, rather than by the fraction of cells that are initially infected by the vector.     

Generation of functional clonal cell lines from human bone marrow stroma.

Five clonal human bone marrow stromal cell lines were isolated from the adherent cell populations in long-term liquid cultures after transfection with the recombinant plasmid pSV3gpt. All the cell-line feeder layers and their conditioned media stimulated the proliferation of committed granulomonocytic stem cells (CFUc) from human bone marrow. The size and number of early erythroid stem cell (BFUe)-derived colonies were significantly increased when in the presence of 10% conditioned medium from the cell lines. Furthermore, a substantial number of mixed colonies with erythroid components were observed in the cultures in the presence of erythropoietin and conditioned medium. These findings suggest that the human bone marrow stromal cell lines obtained after transfection with pSV3gpt may be extremely useful in identifying the hematopoietic factors derived from the hematopoietic microenvironment and in analyzing their mechanism of action.     

Regulation of erythropoiesis in long-term hamster marrow cultures: role of bone marrow-adherent cells

The initial establishment of hamster long-term bone marrow (LTBM) cultures requires formation of an adherent stromal layer, but continued long-term proliferation of these cultures is best accomplished by removal of the suspension cells from the adherent layer and subsequent incubation in liquid suspension culture. Continued maintenance of bone marrow cells in the presence of the adherent layer for more than four to six weeks leads to a decline and eventual disappearance of erythroid and multipotent colony-forming cells. Addition of erythropoietin to LTBM suspension cultures produces mature, hemoglobinized erythrocytes. Incubation of the same cells plus erythropoietin in the presence of autologous parental adherent layers markedly inhibits both terminal erythroid differentiation and the number of detectable erythroid burst- forming units (BFU-Es). This erythroid inhibition occurs primarily within the first 24 hours with little or no effect on CFU-GEMMs or granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units (GM-CFUs). However, continued incubation for seven days produces a reduction in all parameters. Removal of suspension cells from the adherent layer and restimulation with erythropoietin allows regeneration of erythropoiesis. Pretreatment of suspension cells with erythropoietin for 96 hours before exposure to the adherent culture only slightly inhibits erythropoiesis, suggesting that more mature erythroid progenitors are unaffected. Conditioned medium from the marrow adherent layer (ALCM) produces similar erythroid inhibitory effects in LTBM cultures with as little as two hours of incubation. The inhibition is actively produced by the adherent cells, since cycloheximide abolishes its production, while indomethacin has no apparent effect. Adherent marrow stromal cells may regulate hemopoiesis through negative as well as positive humoral signals, and they are particularly effective in erythroid regulation.     

Identification of stromal cell precursors in human bone marrow by a novel monoclonal antibody, STRO-1

Murine IgM monoclonal antibody STRO-1 identifies a cell surface antigen expressed by stromal elements in human bone marrow (BM). STRO-1 binds to approximately 10% of BM mononuclear cells, greater than 95% of which are nucleated erythroid precursors, but does not react with committed progenitor cells (colony-forming unit granulocyte-macrophage [CFU-GM], erythroid bursts [BFU-E], and mixed colonies [CFU-Mix]). Fibroblast colony-forming cells (CFU-F) are present exclusively in the STRO-1+ population. Dual-color cell sorting using STRO-1 in combination with antibody to glycophorin A yields a population approximately 100-fold enriched in CFU-F in the STRO-1+/glycophorin A+ population. When plated under long-term BM culture (LTBMC) conditions, STRO-1+ cells generate adherent cell layers containing multiple stromal cell types, including adipocytes, smooth muscle cells, and fibroblastic elements. STRO-1+ cells isolated from LTBMC at later times retain the capacity to generate adherent layers with a cellular composition identical to that of the parent cultures. The STRO-1-selected adherent layers are able to support the generation of clonogenic cells and mature hematopoietic cells from a population of CD34+ cells highly enriched in so-called long-term culture-initiating cells. We conclude that antibody STRO-1 binds to BM stromal elements with the capacity to transfer the hematopoietic microenvironment in vitro.     

Effects of a preformed extracellular matrix on long-term serum-free bone marrow culture

Summary The extracellular matrix (ECM) produced by the stromal layer plays a key role in the regulation of commitment and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. Long-term bone marrow culture (LTBMC) allows analysis of the stromal microenvironment. Recently, serum-free LTBMC has been described, but the formation of a classical adherent layer was never observed under these conditions. We have evaluated the effect(s) of a chemically well defined ECM on serum-free and serum-dependent LTBMC. In serum-dependent cultures ECM did not induce a significant increase of hematopoiesis. In serum-free conditions, a marked improvement of hematopoiesis was observed, both in terms of CFU-GM and BFU-E yield and in duration of cultures. A confluent stromal layer was observed only in the presence of ECM. The present results indicate that the addition of ECM to serum-free cultures provides a standardized culture condition, while improving progenitor cell recovery and allowing formation of a confluent stromal layer. Moreover, ECM+ LTBMC may provide a model to study the effect(s) of adhesive proteins and hematopoietic growth factors normally present in serum.This work was supported by an AIRC grant and the Program Terapia dei Tumori,Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome     

Assessment of 8-methoxypsoralen and ultraviolet a light effects on human stroma generation and function

Photopheresis or extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP) is a new immunomodulatory therapy in which a patient's leukocytes are exposed extracorporeally to 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) and ultraviolet A (UVA) light. Although it is used for the treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma, graft-versus-host disease, and several autoimmune diseases, with efficacy and safety reported in almost all studies, the mechanisms by which ECP exerts its beneficial effects are still unclear. As cellular targets of this procedure are numerous, we investigated the effects of 8-MOP and UVA light on stromal precursors and mature stromal layers. Human bone marrow stromal cell layers were established in long-term bone marrow culture medium from normal marrow mononuclear cells. Normal marrow mononuclear cells were incubated with 8-MOP and/or exposed to UVA light (PUVA treatment) before culturing. A control without 8-MOP and UVA was also included in the study. Apoptosis induction was evaluated using annexin V following 7 days after PUVA. After 4-6 weeks of culture, stromal layers were examined under a phase-contrast microscope to identify structural differences between PUVA-treated and control stroma. To determine whether PUVA treatment affected stromal regulation of adherent hematopoietic cell survival, mature stromal layers, incubated with 8-MOP and exposed to UVA light, were cocultured with nonadherent mononuclear cells from normal marrow. After 24 h, the percentage of apoptotic hematopoietic cell precursors was quantified by flow cytometry. This study provides evidences that the in vitro exposure of human stromal cell precursors to UVA light, in the presence of 8-MOP, inhibits stromal layer generation by inducing apoptosis, as evidenced by annexin V staining following 7 days of culture. Here, we show an additional cell target for this psoralen following UVA irradiation. However, in a second set of experiments, PUVA treatment did not affect the stromal capacity to support hematopoiesis in culture. Our results can contribute to a better definition of ECP mechanisms of action for future development of experimental designs and clinical applications of this intriguing procedure.     

Protection of cells capable of reconstituting long-term bone marrow stromal cultures from 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide by interleukin 1 and tumor necrosis factor.

The cytokines interleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) have been implicated in protecting normal hematopoiesis from both irradiation and chemotherapy damage. The mechanism of action of these cytokines and which cells are protected is not known. In this study, we report on the ability of IL-1 and TNF-alpha to protect hematopoietic cells capable of repopulating irradiated long-term bone marrow stromal cultures from 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HC). Irradiated long-term bone marrow cultures recharged with hematopoietic cells pretreated with IL-1 and TNF-alpha prior to 4-HC were shown to give rise to greater numbers of colony-forming cells at 4-5 weeks of culture within both the nonadherent and adherent cell populations of the long-term cultures when compared to controls. These results suggest that IL-1 and TNF-alpha can protect human long-term culture-initiating cells, which are closely related to reconstituting stem cells.