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Circulating stem cells in extremely preterm neonates
Author(s) -
Bizzarro Matthew J,
Bhandari Vineet,
Krause Diane S,
Smith Brian R,
Gross Ian
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2007.00194.x
Subject(s) - medicine , stem cell , intensive care medicine , pediatrics , genetics , biology
Aim: To measure circulating CD34 + cell levels in premature neonates and to correlate the initial CD34 + counts with measures of pulmonary function and neonatal morbidity. Methods: CD34 + cell counts were measured in the peripheral blood of preterm neonates (gestational ages 24–32 weeks) ventilated for respiratory disease at <48 h of life, and at the start of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of life. Data pertaining to neonatal demographics and short‐term outcomes were collected. Pulmonary function tests were performed to coincide with CD34 + sampling. Results: Thirty preterm neonates with median gestational age of 24 weeks and birth weight of 641 g were analysed. A mean of 99.4 CD34 + cells per microliter was observed in the 1st week of life with a decline to 54.4 cells per microliter by the 4th week. An inverse correlation between initial CD34 + count and gestational age (p = 0.01) was observed. No significant correlations were observed with measures of pulmonary function or neonatal morbidities. Conclusions: Extremely premature neonates have remarkably high levels of CD34 + cells in their peripheral blood at birth. Umbilical cord blood from this population may potentially provide an abundant source of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells for therapeutic purposes.