人脐血CD34+CD38-细胞免疫表型和染色体核型特征分析

目的 分离脐血干／祖细胞(CD34^ CD38)进行体外长期培养，观察分析其增殖、细胞表面分子标志和染色体核型的特征。方法 用流式细胞仪分选CD34-FITC和CD38-PE标记的CD34^ CD38脐血原始细胞，在含细胞生长因子IL-3、IL-6、GM-CSF、EPO、SCF和胰岛素样生长因子的干细胞培养基中培养6个月，用流式细胞术检测体外培养30d的干／祖细胞表面标记，并用G显带方法分析其染色体核型。结果 在一定培养条件下，经7～12d培养，脐血干／祖细胞(CD34^ CD38)开始增殖。培养6个月后，每孔接种1个细胞，细胞数增殖至250～350个；每孔接种10个细胞，细胞数可增殖至400～500个。每孔接种1个细胞其细胞增殖峰持续时间(8～9代)比接种10个细胞(6～7代)长：经体外长期培养增殖，细胞仍强烈显示十／祖细胞表面分子标记(CD34^ CD38^-)；细胞染色体数目、结构未见异常。结论 脐血干／祖细胞(CD34^ CD38^ )经体外特异性培养增殖，可为大量脐血干／祖细胞移植提供细胞来源。     

脐血CD34+CD38-早期造血祖细胞的体外增殖和凋亡

为了从适龄产妇脐血中分离出CD34^ CD38^-细胞，在体外较长时间培养后观察分析CD34^ CD38^-细胞分裂增殖、凋亡以及干细胞因子对CD34^ CD38^-细胞增殖的影响，用流式细胞仪从10例健康产妇脐血中分选出CD34^ 和CD38^-标记的脐血原始细胞．在添加IL-3、IL-6、GM—CSF、EPO、IGF—1和SCF6种混合因子的干细胞培养基中培养6个月，观察细胞并绘制生长曲线，用单细胞凝胶电泳检测干细胞因子对CD34^ CD38^-细胞生长的影响和用流式细胞仪检测CD34’CD38细胞凋亡情况。结果表明：脐血CD34^ CD38^-细胞可在体外较长时间培养增殖，无异常或过度的细胞凋亡发生。结论：通过控制培养条件，脐血CD34^ CD38^-早期造血祖细胞可在体外较长时间培养增殖，以作为大量脐血原始细胞移植的细胞来源.     

Tpo、IL-11基因修饰的基质细胞对CD34+CD38-早期造血祖细胞扩增的影响

目的　观察经Tpo、IL 11基因修饰的基质细胞对脐血CD3 4 + CD3 8-细胞体外扩增的影响。方法　用载有Tpo、IL 11基因的重组逆转录病毒感染成纤维样基质细胞HFCL ,通过Northernblot法检测基因修饰的HFCL细胞Tpo、IL 11基因的表达。以未经基因修饰的HFCL细胞作为对照 ,将脐血CD3 4 + 造血干 /祖细胞在这种基因修饰的HFCL细胞支持下 ,进行 7d体外扩增后 ,用锥虫蓝拒染法计数活细胞总数 ,并用流式细胞仪分析扩增细胞中CD3 4 + 细胞以及CD3 4 + CD3 8-细胞的比例。结果　在Tpo基因修饰的HFCL细胞、IL 11基因修饰的HFCL细胞和Tpo +IL 11基因共同修饰的HFCL细胞的支持下 ,扩增后CD3 4 + CD3 8-早期造血祖细胞的比例分别为 (1.8± 0 .2 4 ) %、(1.6 2± 0 .2 3) %、(2 .4 5±0 2 8) % ,细胞扩增倍数为 4 .2倍、3.6倍、6 .9倍 ,高于对照组的 (0 .80± 0 .2 3) %和 1.5倍 ,同时扩增细胞总数和CD3 4 + 细胞比例亦高于未经基因修饰的HFCL细胞所支持的扩增体系。结论　Tpo、IL 11基因修饰的基质细胞可有效促进脐血CD3 4 + 造血干 /祖细胞体外扩增 ,同时能有效维持扩增体系中的CD3 4 + CD3 8-细胞以及促进其扩增。     

microRNA在人脐血CD34^＋CD38^-、CD34^＋CD38^＋细胞中的差异性表达

为进一步探讨microRNA（miRNA）在造血调控中的作用奠定基础,比较了miRNA在人脐血CD34^＋CD38^-、CD34^＋CD38^＋细胞中的差异性表达。从人脐血中分离单个核细胞（MNC）,应用FACSVantage分选流式细胞仪分选CD34^＋CD38^-、CD34^＋CD38^＋细胞;抽提miRNA后与miRNA芯片杂交,应用生物信息学技术分析miRNA芯片的表达结果。结果发现,miRNA在人脐血CD34^＋CD38^＋细胞的表达水平比在CD34^＋CD38^-细胞的表达水平降低至1／2以下者共11个,表达水平升高至2倍以上者共73个,以上84个miRNA被称为“干细胞性”miRNA。经比较Georgantas等和芯片表达结果,发现有12个（14、29％,12／84）相同的miRNA。部分miRNA经历了类似于CD34在造血细胞表面的发展历程。应用生物信息学技术可寻找到新的与造血调控相关的miRNA簇及miRNA的下游靶基因。结论：“干细胞性”miRNA在正常造血中发挥着重要作用,即miRNA的系统表达模式一造血干／祖细胞基因表达谱一造血干／祖细胞的自我更新和系列定向分化。     

阵发性睡眠性血红蛋白尿症患者骨髓CD34+CD59+细胞与CD34+CD59-细胞生物学性能的研究

目的 探讨阵发性睡眠性血红蛋白尿症(PNH)患CD34^ CD59^ 细胞的特性及PNH克隆呈优势造血的可能原因，以探索PNH发病的内在机制。方法 用免疫磁珠吸附法富集纯化CD34^ 细胞，再用流式细胞仪分选出PNH患的CD34^ CD59^ 细胞、CD34^ CD59^ 细胞及正常对照CD34^ 细胞。分别进行体外扩增液体培养2周，并对扩增前、后的细胞进行半固体培养。结果 ①PNH患CD34^ CD59^ 细胞与正常对照CD34^ 细胞形成集落形成单位(CFU)均在第7天达到扩增高峰，并且扩增后的细胞仍能保持CD59抗原，无GPI锚连蛋白的丢失。②正常对照的CD34^ 细胞在生存、增殖、形成CFU及扩增能力上均明显强于FHN患的CD34^ CD59^ 细胞及CD34^ CD59^-细胞.③PNH患CD34^ CD59^ 细胞及CD34^ CD59^ 细胞体外半固体培养，其形成CFU的能力无明显差异。④PNH患CD34^ CD59^ 细胞及CD34^ CD59^ 细胞在SCF IL3 IL6 FL Tpo及SCF IL3 IL6 FL Tpo Epo组合下液体培养，其生存、增殖、扩增等能力上均无明显差异。但在SCF IL3 IL6 FL Tpo Epo GM-CSF组合下液体培养，CD34^ CD59^ 细胞的生存、增殖、扩增能力均明显强于CD34^ CD59^ 细胞。结论 ①正常对照的CD34^ 细胞在生存、增殖、形成CFU及扩增能力上均明显强于PNH患的CD34^ CD59^ 细胞。②PNH患CD34^ CD59^ 细胞及CD34^ CD59^ 细胞体外半固体培养，以及在SCF IL3 IL6 LF Tpo及SCF IL3 IL6 FL Tpo Ep组合下液体培养，其生存、增殖、扩增等能力上均无明显差异，说明CD34^ CD59^ 细胞在造血能力上并无内在的优势。GM—CSF或许是使PNH克隆呈造血优势的原因之一。     

HUMAN PRIMITIVE HEMATOPOIETIC PROGENITOR CELLS ARE MORE ENRICHED IN CD34~ CD38~- POPULATION THAN IN CD34~ CD38~ POPULATION

To clarify the hematopoietic potential of various sub-classes of human hematopoietic progenitor cells, we used a multicolor staining protocol in conjunction with anti-CD34 and -CD38 McAb. We characterized two cell fractions in CD34 cells with or without CD38 expression. A clonogenic assay showed that most CFC were present in CD34 CD38 population. Morphologic analysis showed that blast-like cells were more enriched in the CD34 CD38 fraction. To clarify the biologic differences between both fractions, we examined the more primitive progenitor cell function by assessing long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC) on the stromal cells. At the first two weeks, more CF.C harvested from the culture in the fractions initiated with both populations. However, more LTC-IC were present during weeks 4 to 12 in the CD34 CD38- population. These results indicate the primitive progenitors are more enriched in CD34 CD38 population than in CD34 CD38 cells.     

Preincubation with endothelial cell monolayers increases gene transfer efficiency into human bone marrow CD34(+)CD38(-) progenitor cells

Retroviral gene transfer studies targeting bone marrow CD34(+)CD38(-) stem cells have been disappointing because of the rarity of these cells, their G(0) cell cycle status, and their low or absent expression of surface retroviral receptors. In this study, we examined whether preincubation of bone marrow CD34(+)CD38(-) stem cells with a hematopoietically supportive porcine microvascular endothelial cell line (PMVECs) could impact the cell cycle status and expression of retroviral receptors in pluripotent CD34+CD38- cells and the efficiency of gene transfer into these primitive target cells. PMVEC coculture supplemented with GM-CSF + IL-3 + IL-6 + SCF + Flt-3 ligand induced >93% of the CD34(+)CD38(-) population to enter the G(1) or G(2)/S/M phase while increasing this population from 1.4% on day 0 to 6.5% of the total population by day 5. Liquid cultures supplemented with the identical cytokines induced 73% of the CD34(+)CD38(-) population into cell cycle but did not maintain cells with the CD34(+)CD38(-) phenotype over time. We found no significant increase in the levels of AmphoR or GaLVR mRNA in PMVEC-expanded CD34(+)CD38(-) cells after coculture. Despite this, the efficiency of gene transfer using either amphotropic vector (PA317) or GaLV vector (PG13) was significantly greater in PMVEC-expanded CD34(+)CD38(-) cells (11.4 +/- 5.6 and 10.9 +/- 5.2%, respectively) than in either steady state bone marrow CD34(+)CD38(-) cells (0.6 +/- 1.7 and 0.2 +/- 0.6%, respectively; p < 0.01 and p < 0.01) or liquid culture-expanded CD34(+)CD38(-) cells (1.4 +/- 3.5 and 0.0%, respectively; p < 0.01 and p < 0.01). Since PMVEC coculture induces a high level of cell cycling in human bone marrow CD34(+)CD38(-) cells and expands hematopoietic cells capable of in vivo repopulation, this system offers potential advantages for application in clinical gene therapy protocols.     

Ligation of CD38 suppresses human B lymphopoiesis

CD38 is a transmembrane glycoprotein expressed in many cell types, including lymphoid progenitors and activated lymphocytes. High levels of CD38 expression on immature lymphoid cells suggest its role in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation, but there is no evidence demonstrating a functional activity of CD38 on these cells. We used stroma-supported cultures of B cell progenitors and anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies (T16 and IB4) to study CD38 function. In cultures of normal bone marrow CD19+ cells (n = 5), addition of anti-CD38 markedly reduced the number of cells recovered after 7 d. Cell loss was greatest among CD19+ sIg- B cell progenitors (mean cell recovery +/- SD = 7.2 +/- 11.7% of recovery in control cultures) and extended to CD19+CD34+ B cells (the most immature subset; 7.6 +/- 2.2%). In contrast, CD38 ligation did not substantially affect cell numbers in cultures of normal peripheral blood or tonsillar B cells. In stroma- supported cultures of 22 B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia cases, anti-CD38 suppressed recovery of CD19+ sIg- leukemic cells. CD38 ligation also suppressed the growth of immature lymphoid cell lines cultured on stroma and, in some cases, in the presence of stroma- derived cytokines (interleukin [IL] 7, IL-3, and/or stem cell factor), but did not inhibit growth in stroma- or cytokine-free cultures. DNA content and DNA fragmentation studies showed that CD38 ligation of stroma-supported cells resulted in both inhibition of DNA synthesis and induction of apoptosis. It is known that CD38 catalyzes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) hydrolysis into cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) and ADPR. However, no changes in NAD+ hydrolysis or cADPR and ADPR production after CD38 ligation were found by high-performance liquid chromatography; addition of NAD+, ADPR, or cADPR to cultures of lymphoid progenitors did not offset the inhibitory effects of anti- CD38. Thus, anti-CD38 does not suppress B lymphopoiesis by altering the enzymatic function of the molecule. In conclusion, these data show that CD38 ligation inhibits the growth of immature B lymphoid cells in the bone marrow microenvironment, and suggest that CD38 interaction with a putative ligand represents a novel regulatory mechanism of B lymphopoiesis.     

CD133+ cell selection is an alternative to CD34+ cell selection for ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells

CD133 is a new stem cell antigen that may provide an alternative to CD34 for the selection and expansion of hematopoietic cells for transplantation. This study compared the expansion capacities of CD133(+) and CD34(+) cells isolated from the same cord blood (CB) samples. After 14 days culture in stroma-free, serum-free medium in the presence of stem cell factor (SCF), Flt3-1, megakaryocyte growth and development factor (MGDF), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), the CD133(+) and CD34(+) fractions displayed comparable expansion of the myeloid compartment (CFC, LTC-IC, and E-LTC-IC). The expansion of CD133(+) CB cells was up to 1262-fold for total cells, 99-fold for CD34(+) cells, 109-fold for CD34(+) CD133(+) cells, 133-fold for CFU-GM, 14.5-fold for LTC-IC, and 7.5-fold for E-LTC-IC. Moreover, the expanded population was able to generate lymphoid B (CD19(+)), NK (CD56(+)), and T (CD4(+) CD8(+)) cells in liquid or fetal thymic organ cultures, while expression of the homing antigen CXCR4 was similar on expanded and nonexpanded CD133(+) or CD34(+) cells. Thus, the CD133(+) subset could be expanded in the same manner as the CD34(+) subset and conserved its multilineage capacity, which would support the relevance of CD133 for clinical hematopoietic selection.     

Human hematopoietic precursors in long-term culture: single CD34+ cells that lack detectable T cell, B cell, and myeloid cell antigens produce multiple colony-forming cells when cultured with marrow stromal cells

CD34+ human marrow cells not expressing T cell-, B cell-, and myeloid cell-associated antigens (TBM-) were cloned by two-color cell sorting into culture wells containing irradiated marrow stromal cells. After 4 wk of culture, 3.7 +/- 2.1% of these cells generated colony-forming cells (CFC), with each of these cells generating 6.3 +/- 5.3 CFC. This was not due to the 0.5 +/- 0.5% CFC present in the purified CD34+ TBM- cells, as less than 1% of CFC persist in these cultures. This is the first demonstration that single immature precursor cells in human long-term cultures generate multiple CFC progeny. The immature nature of these clonable CD34+ TBM- precursors suggests their candidate status as human hematopoietic stem cells.     

Expansion of mobilized peripheral blood progenitor cells under defined culture conditions rsing CD34+CD71-CD45- cells as a starting population

A major goal of experimental and clinical hematology is the identification of mechanisms and conditions supporting the expansion of transplantable hematopoietic stem cells. We assessed the expansion potential of CD34+CD71-CD45- cells derived from granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-mobilized peripheral blood under recently defined serum-free culture conditions. The CD34+CD71-CD45- cells in mobilized peripheral blood were found to contain the majority (92%+/-5.6) of primitive long-term culture initiating cells (LTCIC) and 53.5%+/-16.7 of the more committed colony-forming cells (CFC). Furthermore, this population represents 23.3%+/-4.1 of the total CD34+ cells and allows reduction of the cell density important for maintenance/expansion of primitive progenitor cells. CD34+ CD71- CD45- cells were cultured in defined serum-free media supplemented with 300 ng each of Flt-3 ligand and stem cell factor (SCF), 60 ng of interleukin (IL)-3, and 20 ng each of IL-6 and G-CSF. Mononuclear cells (MNC) and CFC were expanded 50-fold and 200-fold, respectively; primitive progenitor cells (LTC-IC) were maintained at input values after a total of 10 days of expansion. The addition of IL-15 to our cytokine cocktail expanded LTC-IC 2- to 3-fold and CFC to >500-fold. The data presented should allow clinical manipulation (purging) and expansion procedures with mobilized PBPC harvests without the loss of primitive progenitor cells and could be made applicable for large-scale clinical expansion.     

Human cord blood CD34+CD38- cell transduction via lentivirus-based gene transfer vectors.

The efficient transfer and sustained expression of a transgene in human hematopoietic cells with in vivo repopulating potential would provide a significant advancement in the development of protocols for the treatment of hematopoietic diseases. Recent advances in the ability to purify and culture hematopoietic cells with the CD34+CD38- phenotype and with in vivo repopulating potential from human umbilical cord blood provide a direct means of testing the ability of transfer vectors to transduce these cells. Here we demonstrate the efficient transduction and expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in human umbilical cord-derived CD34+CD38- cells, without prestimulation, using a lentivirus-based gene transfer system. Transduced CD34+CD38- cells cultured in serum-free medium supplemented with SCF, Flt-3, IL-3, and IL-6 maintained their surface phenotype for 5 days and expressed readily detectable levels of the transgene. The average transduction efficiency of the CD34+CD38- cells was 59 +/- 7% as determined by flow cytometry. Erythroid and myeloid colonies derived from transduced CD34+CD38- cells were EGFP positive at a high frequency (66 +/- 9%). In contrast, a murine leukemia virus-based vector transduced the CD34+CD38- cells at a low frequency (<4%). These results demonstrate the utility of lentiviral-based gene transfer vectors in the transduction of primitive human hematopoietic CD34+CD38- cells.     

人胚胎AGM区基质细胞在体外培养中对脐血CD34+细胞的支持作用

目的探讨人主动脉-性腺-中肾(AGM)区基质细胞对脐血CD34+细胞的造血支持作用.方法采用免疫磁珠法分离人脐血CD34+细胞,接种于底层已制备好的人AGM区基质细胞S1～S5饲养层的24孔板中,同时设无饲养层组及取自同期胚胎的躯干成纤维(hFT)细胞为对照,体外培养28 d,每7 d收获细胞并检测总数,流式细胞术检测CD34+、CD34+CD38细胞含量,并行造血细胞集落培养.结果在未加外源性造血生长因子的条件下,5株人AGM区基质细胞hAGMS1～S5对造血细胞总数、CD34+及CD34+CD38细胞、造血细胞集落均有不同程度的扩增及维持作用,与无饲养层组、hFT细胞组比较差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).细胞总数在21 d达到峰值[扩增(25.13±4.83)倍],CD34+、CD34+CD38-细胞在扩增14 d达到峰值[(2.68±0.51)倍、(2.38±0.45)倍],高增殖潜能集落形成单位(HPP-CFU)亦在14 d达到峰值[(2.62±0.85)倍].hAGMS1～S5的造血支持作用组间比较差异亦有统计学意义(P＜0.05),其中hAGMS3、S4优于S1、S2及S5.结论人AGM区基质细胞对脐血CD34+细胞具有维持及扩增作用,特别是hAGMS3、S4两株细胞具有更好的维持作用,为胚胎早期造血发生机制和诱导胚胎干细胞造血分化研究提供了重要的模式细胞和基础资料.     

Delta-1 enhances marrow and thymus repopulating ability of human CD34(+)CD38(-) cord blood cells

We investigated the effect of Notch signaling, a known regulator of cell fate in numerous developmental systems, on human hematopoietic precursors. We show that activation of endogenous Notch signaling in human CD34(+)CD38(-) cord blood precursors with immobilized Delta-1 in serum-free cultures containing fibronectin and hematopoietic growth factors inhibited myeloid differentiation and induced a 100-fold increase in the number of CD34(+) cells compared with control cultures. Immobilized Delta-1 also induced a multifold expansion of cells with the phenotype of common lymphoid precursors (CD34(+)CD7(+)CD45RA(+)) and promoted the development of cytoplasmic CD3(+) T/NK cell precursors. IL-7 enhanced the promotion of T/NK cell differentiation by immobilized Delta-1, but granulocytic differentiation occurred when G-CSF was added. Transplantation into immunodeficient mice showed a substantial increase in myeloid and B cell engraftment in the marrow and also revealed thymic repopulation by CD3(+) T cells due to cells being cultured for a longer period with immobilized Delta-1. These data suggest that Delta-1 can enhance myeloid and lymphoid marrow-repopulating ability and promote the generation of thymus-repopulating T cell precursors.     

人参总皂甙协同造血生长因子体外诱导CD34+造血干/祖细胞扩增与分化的作用

为探讨人参总皂甙(total saponins of panax ginseng,TSPG)协同造血生长因子体外诱导CD34+造血干/祖细胞(HSC/HPC)扩增与分化的作用,收集人脐血、骨髓细胞并采用StemsepTM干细胞分选系统分离纯化CD34+HSC/HPC,用不同剂量TSPG加入不同组合的造血生长因子进行培养,检测细胞总数、CD34+细胞和CD33+细胞比例及集落形成细胞总数(CFC)、粒系祖细胞(CFU-GM)数量变化.结果显示10-70μg/ml TSPG均可不同程度地提高脐血细胞总数、CFC数和CD34+细胞数,50μg/ml是最佳刺激浓度,可使细胞总数、CFC数和CD34+细胞数分别增至(2470.5±79.96)×103、(53.96±4.29)×100%和(21.86±3.09)×100%;20μg/ml是液体培养诱导骨髓CD34+细胞向粒系分化的最佳浓度,可使细胞总数、CFU-GM和CD33+细胞分别增至(133.2±9.03)×103、(26.78±1.91)×100%和(16.98±1.73)×100%;甲基纤维素半固体培养检测显示,TSPG(10-50μg/ml)均能提高CD34+细胞形成CFU-GM的集落产率,以TSPG 20μg/ml效果最为明显.结论合适剂量的TSPG能够促进CD34+造血干/祖细胞体外扩增与定向诱导分化.     

人胎盘组织源造血干/祖细胞的初步研究

为了探讨足月胎盘组织源单个核细胞(human mature placenta tissue-derived mononuclear cells,hPTMNC)中CD34+细胞的体外增殖、分化能力,寻找新的造血干/祖细胞来源供临床应用,分别采用流式细胞术检测、造血干/祖细胞集落培养和体外无细胞因子长期培养的方法,测定胎盘组织源和脐血中的CD34+细胞及其亚群和集落形成单位的数量。结果表明:胎盘组织源CD34+细胞(2.74±0.61%)及其亚群CD34+/CD38-细胞(2.46±0.42%)、造血干/祖细胞集落CFU-GM(186.90±24.52)和BFU-E(101.40±13.35)水平都较脐血CD34+细胞(1.73±0·32%)、CD34+/CD38-细胞(0.80±0.25%)、CFU-GM(136.90±25.15)、BFU-E(49.20±8.13)高;前者在体外无细胞因子培养条件下存活时间长,且细胞数量增加约2倍。结论:胎盘是胎儿期的造血器官,胎盘细胞成分更幼稚,是一种造血干/祖细胞移植的新的种子细胞。     

Efficiency of transgenic T cell generation from gene-marked cultured human CD34+ cord blood cells is determined by their maturity and the cytokines present in the culture medium

Success of gene therapy for diseases affecting the T cell lineage depends on the thymic repopulation by genetically engineered hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC). Although it has been shown that retrovirally transduced HPC can repopulate the thymus, little information is available on the effect of the culture protocol. Moreover, for expansion of the number of HPC, cytokine supplemented culture is needed. Here, we transduced purified human umbilical cord blood (CB) CD34+ cells in cultures supplemented with various combinations of the cytokines thrombopoietin (TPO), stem cell factor (SCF), flt3/flk-2 ligand (FL), interleukin-3 (IL-3) and IL-6, and investigated thymus-repopulating ability of gene-marked HPC in vitro. Irrespective of the cytokine cocktail used, transduced CD34+CD38- CB cells, expressing the marker green fluorescent protein (GFP) encoded by the MFG-GFP retrovirus, have both superior proliferative and thymus-repopulating potential compared with transduced CD34+CD38+ CB cells. Effectively transduced GFP+CD34+CD38- HPC, cultured for 3 or 17 days, more readily generated T cells than GFP- HPC from the same culture. The reverse was true in the case of CD34+CD38+ HPC cultures. Finally, our results indicate that the number of GFP+ T cell progenitors actually increased during culture of CD34+CD38- HPC, in a magnitude that is determined by the cytokine cocktail used during culture.     

FLT3 ligand preserves the uncommitted CD34+CD38- progenitor cells during cytokine prestimulation for retroviral transduction

Before stem cell gene therapy can be considered for clinical applications, problems regarding cytokine prestimulation remain to be solved. In this study, a retroviral vector carrying the genes for the enhanced version of green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and neomycin resistance (neo(r)) was used for transduction of CD34+ cells. The effect of cytokine prestimulation on transduction efficiency and the population of uncommitted CD34+CD38- cells was determined. CD34+ cells harvested from umbilical cord blood were kept in suspension cultures and stimulated with combinations of the cytokines stem cell factor (SCF), FLT3 ligand, interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-6, and IL-7 prior to transduction. Expression of the two genes was assessed by flow cytometry and determination of neomycin-resistant colonies in a selective colony-forming unit (CFU) assay, respectively. The neomycin resistance gene was expressed in a higher percentage of cells than the EGFP gene, but there seemed to be a positive correlation between expression of the two genes. The effect of cytokine prestimulation was therefore monitored using EGFP as marker for transduction. When SCF was compared to SCF in combination with more potent cytokines, highest transduction efficiency was found with SCF and IL-3 and IL-6 (5.05% +/- 0.80 versus 2.66% +/- 0.53 with SCF alone, p = 0.04). However, prestimulation with SCF in combination with IL-3 and IL-6 also reduced the percentage of CD34+ cells (p = 0.02). Then, prestimulation with SCF and FLT3 ligand was compared. Significant difference in transduction efficiency was not found. Interestingly, FLT3 ligand seemed to preserve the population of CD34+CD38- cells compared to SCF (16.56% +/- 2.02 versus 9.39% +/- 2.35, p = 0.03). In conclusion, prestimulation with potent cytokine combinations increased the transduction efficiency, but reduced the fraction of CD34+ cells. Importantly, the use of FLT3 ligand seemed to preserve the population of uncommitted cells.     

Tumor necrosis factor alpha is a potent synergistic factor for the proliferation of primitive human hematopoietic progenitor cells and induces resistance to transforming growth factor beta but not to interferon gamma

Since tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interferon (IFN)-gamma, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta have all been shown to be specific inhibitors of early human hematopoiesis, we wanted to investigate the interactions of these three cytokines on very primitive human adult bone marrow CD34++CD38- hematopoietic progenitor cells, using a pre-colony-forming cell (pre-CFC) assay, which detects the effects of these cytokines on the initial phases of the differentiation of these primitive progenitors, which are unresponsive to interleukin (IL) 3 alone. Surprisingly, TNF-alpha was a very potent stimulator of the proliferation of CD34++CD38- cells and was the most potent synergistic factor for the IL-3-induced proliferation of these cells of all cytokines tested (IL-1, IL-6, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, kit ligand). TNF-alpha was the only cytokine that, as a single added factor, induced substantial proliferation in CD34++CD38- cells in the presence of IL-3, except for kit ligand, which induced very limited proliferation. TNF-alpha, moreover, induced a high degree of resistance to the inhibitory effects of TGF-beta in a dose-dependent way. The inhibitory effects of IFN-gamma, however, were not affected by the presence of TNF-alpha. We hypothesize that in situations of the hematopoietic stress, TNF-alpha may abrogate the inhibitory effect of ambient TGF-beta in the bone marrow microenvironment to allow primitive stem cells to proliferate and differentiate in response to an increased demand for mature blood cells.     

Studies on the committed differentiation of CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells]

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the capacity of different hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs) combinations for inducing CD34+ cells to proliferate and differentiate committedly to granulocytes, erythrocytes, megakaryocytes and dendritic cells (DC). METHODS: CD34+ cells were isolated from umbilical cord blood by using a high-gradient magnetic cell sorting system (MACS), and expanded with HGFs in a liquid culture system. Colony forming cells and antigen expression were studied by colony forming assays and FACS. RESULTS: Different combinations of HGFs, including SCF, IL-3, IL-6, GM-CSF, Epo and Tpo increased BFU-E, CFU-GM, CFU-MK and CD41a+ cells by 14.97 +/- 2.89 fold, 14.46 +/- 3.19 fold, 34.67 +/- 4.62 fold and 17.29 +/- 2.34 fold, respectively. Combination of HGFs allowed generation of a large number of DCs. Cultures of CD34+ cells with the combination of FLT-3 ligand + GM-CSF + IL-4 + TNF-alpha yielded 24.28% +/- 2.14% CD1a+ cells, while the control cultures did not. CONCLUSION: It is possible to induce CD34+ cells to proliferate and differentiate committedly to different lineage of hematopoietic cells and DC.