Characterization of expanded cord blood cells in medium supplemented with different cytokines

Background and Objectives Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) transplantation has been used for treating hematological disorders, immunodeficiencies, metabolic disorders and auto immune disease. In clinical application, the number of HSCs infused proved to be the major prognostic factor for engraftment and survival; however, cord blood transplantation is limited in adults cause of their low number of cells. Consequently, we evaluated the potential of cell expansion and differentiation of cord blood cells in presence of different combination of cytokines. Materials and MethodsIn this interventional experimental study, umblical cord blood mononuclear cells (UCB MNC) were taken from apparently healthy mothers without any historical sign of diabetes during their pregnancy. We quantified and characterized an ex vivo expansion capacity of umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (UCB MNC) in IMDM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and various combination of SCF, TPO, Flt-3, GM-CSF and IL-3 as FSG3 T, FS3T, and FST for 3 weeks. Immunophenotyping and colony forming assay were performed at day 0, 7, 14 and 21 to characterize expanded cells in different groups. ResultsTotal cell number was multiplied 5 times by all groups after 14 days of culture and the group with three cytokines of SCF, TPO, Flt-3 was shown to produce the highest percentage of hematopoitic stem cells and myeloid precursor cells among all groups during 2 weeks. ConclusionsIn this study, we showed an economical method for the expansion of umbilical cord blood stem cells with usage of UCB MNC and combination of SCF, TPO, and Flt-3.