Haibo Cai

Comparison between the effects of normoxia and hypoxia on antioxidant enzymes and glutathione redox state in ex vivo culture of CD34+ cells

Hypoxia maintained biological characteristics of CD34(+) cells through keeping lower intracellular reactive oxygen specials (ROS) levels. The effects of normoxia and hypoxia on antioxidant enzymes and glutathione redox state were compared in this study. Hypoxia decreased the mRNA expression of both catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), but not affected mRNAs expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD). While the cellular GPX activities under hypoxia were apparently less than those under normoxia, neither SOD activities nor CAT activities were affected by hypoxia. The analysis of glutathione redox status and ROS products showed the lower oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels, the higher reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, the higher GSH/GSSG ratios, and the less O(2)- and H(2)O(2) generation under hypoxia (versus normoxia). Meanwhile more primary CD34(+)CD38(-) cells were obtained when cultivation was performed under hypoxia or with N-acetyl cysteine (the precursor of GSH) under normoxia. These results demonstrated the different responses of anti-oxidative mechanism between normoxia and hypoxia. Additionally, the present study suggested that the GSH-GPX antioxidant system played an important role in HSPCs preservation by reducing peroxidation.

A comparative gene-expression analysis of CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells grown in static and stirred culture systems

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2478/s11658-006-0039-x.].

Hematopoietic reconstitution of CD34+ cells grown in static and stirred culture systems in NOD/SCID mice.

The hematopoietic reconstitution of cord blood (CB) CD34+ cells grown in static and stirred system was studied. Static cultures were better than stirred cultures for cell expansion. Engraftment of stirred-culture hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) was higher than static-culture HSCs. Stirred-culture HSCs had better multilineage reconstitution ability and colony-forming ability than static-culture HSCs. Static cultures thus favor the expansion of HSCs and stirred cultures are more effective in preserving functional HSCs.

Optimization of SCF feeding regimen for ex vivo expansion of cord blood hematopoietic stem cells

Stem cell factor (SCF) plays important roles in ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In this study, the effects of dose and feeding time of SCF on ex vivo expansion of CD34(+) cells were investigated in serum-free medium supplemented with a cytokine cocktail composed of SCF, thrombopoietin (TPO) and flt3-ligand (FL). Among the four tested doses (0, 5, 50 and 500ng/mL), a SCF dose of 50ng/mL was demonstrated to be most favorable for ex vivo expansion of CD34(+) cells, which resulted in 34.22±10.80 and 8.89±1.25 folds of expansion regarding total cells and CD34(+) cells, respectively. Meanwhile, the specific growth rate of cells, the consumption rate of SCF and the percentage of CD34(+)c-kit(+) cells during the 21-day culture process were analyzed. The results indicated that initial 4-day period was a critical stage for SCF functioning on CD34(+) cells during ex vivo expansion. Based on this, a modified SCF feeding regimen was proposed, in which SCF (50ng/mL) was only supplemented on day 0 in the cytokine cocktail and cells were then fed with TPO and FL till the end of culture. It was found that this SCF feeding regimen could expand CD34(+) cells efficiently, thus providing a cost-effect expansion protocol for HSCs.

Chromosomal stability during ex vivo expansion of UCB CD34+ cells

Objectives:  Ex vivo expansion is a feasible strategy, which may overcome limitation of the very low frequency of haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, in umbilical cord blood (UCB). However, both quality of cells and safety of expanded population are critical issues to be addressed for their clinical application. Hence, in this study, we evaluated genetic stability of UCB‐derived CD34+ cells during ex vivo culture, based on karyotype analysis, as well as its effect on cell proliferation characteristics.

Differential gene expression of human CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells before and after culture.

Ex vivo expanded CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) have compromised homing and engraftment capacities. To investigate underlying mechanisms for functional changes of expanded HSPCs, we compared gene expression profiling of cultured and fresh CD34+ cells derived from cord blood using SMART-PCR and cDNA array: 20 genes were up-regulated while 25 genes were down-regulated in cultured CD34+ HSPCs. These differentially expressed genes are involved primarily in proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and homing.

Stem cell factor is essential for preserving NOD/SCID reconstitution capacity of ex vivo expanded cord blood CD34+ cells

Stem cell factor (SCF) is essential in the haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) niche, and is therefore used extensively in haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) ex vivo expansion. However, in the literature, dose and schedule of SCF feeding varies widely. We previously proposed a novel SCF feeding regimen with proven effectiveness for HSPCs expansion; however, physiological function of expanded cells with this SCF feeding regimen required further research.

Effects of telomerase activity and apoptosis on ex vivo expansion of cord blood CD34+ cells

Ex vivo expansion of CD34+ cells has become critically important in order to obtain sufficient haematopoietic stem cells for clinical application. Among major regulators involved in ex vivo expansion, telomerase activity and apoptosis have been revealed to be closely linked to cell cycle progression. However, all exact roles remain to be elucidated. Here, change in telomerase activity and level of apoptosis in cord blood (CB) CD34+ cells were evaluated together with specific cell population growth rate during ex vivo culture.

Effects of agitation speed on the ex vivo expansion of cord blood hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells in stirred suspension culture

Abstract The mononuclear cells were cultivated in stirred flasks at different agitation speeds of 30 rpm, 45 rpm, 60 rpm and 80 rpm. At the agitation speed of 30 rpm, total cells achieved higher expansion folds and the CFC density increased. When at higher agitation speed of 60 rpm or 80 rpm, the number of cells dropped rapidly and characteristics of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) were not maintained. Moreover, the culture duration of 6–9 days was better for HSPCs ex vivo expansion. These data indicated that HSPCs should be cultured at relatively low agitation speed and for a short-term period when cultured in stirred suspension system.

The effects of ROS-mediating oxygen tension on human CD34+CD38− cells induced into mature dendritic cells

Oxygen tension regulates the biological characteristics of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) by modulating intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). To better understand oxygen tension mechanism on HSPCs culture, gene expression analysis of human CD34(+)CD38(-) HSPCs was performed using microarrays. The CD34(+)CD38(-) HSPCs cultured under normoxia, hypoxia, or with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC, an ROS scavenger) were isolated for transcriptional profilings. Compared to normoxia group, 1 gene was up-regulated and 22 genes were down-regulated in hypoxia group, while 1 gene was up-regulated and 29 genes were down-regulated in NAC group. These differently expressed genes were involved in cell surface markers, blood activation and differentiation. The common down-regulated genes related to dendritic cells (DCs) maturation (CD80, CD86, and JAG1) were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR. Furthermore, the analysis of the phenotypes of DCs, including the DC-characteristic surface molecule CD1a, the costimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86, and HLA-DR, associated with the capacity of DCs to stimulate allogeneic T cells, showed that hypoxia-mediating ROS inhibited the potential of CD34(+)CD38(-) HSPCs differentiating to mature DCs. All these results demonstrated that hypoxia-reducing ROS down-regulated the genes driving CD34(+)CD38(-) HSPCs differentiation, which provides an interesting molecular hint to direct their development to DCs during cultures.