Expansion of Human Adult Stem Cells from Bone Marrow Stroma: Conditions that Maximize the Yields of Early Progenitors and Evaluate Their Quality

There is considerable interest in the biology and therapeutic potential of adult stem cells from bone marrow stroma, variously referred to as mesenchymal stem cells or marrow stromal cells (MSCs). Human MSCs can expand rapidly in culture, but the rate of expansion and the yields of multipotential progenitors are inversely related to the plating density and incubation time of each passage. We have defined conditions for optimizing the yields of cultures enriched for early progenitors. Also, we developed a simple method for assessing the quality of the cultures by phase-contrast microscopy and image analysis or by forward light scatter in a flow cytometer. The cells expanded most rapidly on day 4 after plating,…

• LG
  Louisiana Gene Therapy Research Consortium
• OF
  Oberkotter Foundation
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: AR47796