Open AccessHigh Efficiency Electroporation of Human Umbilical Cord Blood CD34 + Hematopoietic Precursor Cells
Author(s) -
Wu Michael H.,
Smith Stephen L.,
Dolan M. Eileen
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1634/stemcells.19-6-492
Subject(s) - electroporation , biology , cord blood , stem cell , haematopoiesis , cd34 , microbiology and biotechnology , progenitor cell , stem cell factor , bone marrow , immunology , gene , biochemistry
Human umbilical cord blood provides an alternative source of hematopoietic cells for purposes of transplantation or ex vivo genetic modification. The objective of this study was to evaluate electroporation as a means to introduce foreign genes into human cord blood CD34 + cells and evaluate gene expression in CD34 + /CD38 dim and committed myeloid progenitors (CD33 + , CD11b + ). CD34 + cells were cultured in X‐VIVO 10 supplemented with thrombopoietin, stem cell factor, and Flt‐3 ligand. Electroporation efficiency and cell viability measured by flow cytometry using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as a reporter indicated 31% ± 2% EGFP + /CD34 + efficiency and 77% ± 3% viability as determined 48 hours post‐electroporation. The addition of allogeneic cord blood plasma increased the efficiency to 44% ± 5% with no effect on viability. Of the total CD34 + cells 48 hours post‐electroporation, 20% were CD38 dim /EGFP + . CD34 + cells exposed to interleukin‐3, GM‐CSF and G‐CSF for an additional 11 days differentiated into CD33 + and CD11b + cells, and 9% ± 3% and 8% ± 7% were expressing the reporter gene, respectively. We show that electroporation can be used to introduce foreign genes into early hematopoietic stem cells (CD34 + /CD38 dim ), and that the introduced gene is functionally expressed following expansion into committed myeloid progenitors (CD33 + , CD11b + ) in response to corresponding cytokines. Further investigation is needed to determine the transgene expression in functional terminal cells derived from the genetically modified CD34 + cells, such as T cells and dendritic cells.