Phenotypic and functional comparison of mesenchymal stem cells derived from the bone marrow of normal adults and patients with hematologic malignant diseases

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have received much attention for their ability to differentiate into various cell types under specific conditions and to support the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells. However, it is unclear whether the characteristics of MSCs are altered in different disease states. In this study, we obtained and expanded MSCs from bone marrow of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), Hodgkin disease (HD), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Our results showed that MSCs derived from ALL, HD, and NHL were similar to normal adult bone marrow-derived MSCs in morphology, growth properties, surface epitopes, and differentiation ability in vitro. Moreover, MSCs derived from ALL, NHL, and HD had a normal karyotype and ultrastructure. These cells could express hematopoietic cytokines and support hematopoiesis in long-term culture. However, adherent cells isolated from bone marrow of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) showed abnormal biological properties, including heterogeneity in morphology, limited proliferation capacity, and impaired differentiation and hematopoiesis support ability. These results indicate that there are differences in the characteristics of adherent cells derived from different disease states, which may be important for reasonable MSC selection in stem cell-based therapy.