[Possibilities of stem cell expansion exemplified by hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood]

Abstract

Cord blood hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) represent an important cell source for transplantation of cancer patients after high-dose chemotherapy ifautologous cells are not suitable and no adult allogeneic donor is available. The main disadvantage of cord blood is the low number of cells obtained due to the small volume ofblood collectable from umbilical cords. Without an expansion of the HSPC, a transplantation is mostly limited to juvenile patients. In this paper, a new culture technique based on membrane-separated cocultivation of HSPC with stromal cells is presented which imitates the natural hematopoietic environment while maintaining a physical separation of the cells. With the novel membrane reactor, HSPC could be expanded to high cell numbers, and first transplantation experiments in a mouse model have proven the superiority of this technique compared to standard culture systems.