Hepatocytes and epithelial cells of donor origin in recipients of peripheral-blood stem cells.
BACKGROUND
Bone marrow contains stem cells with the potential to differentiate into mature cells of various organs. We determined whether circulating stem cells have a similar potential.


METHODS
Biopsy specimens from the liver, gastrointestinal tract, and skin were obtained from 12 patients who had undergone transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells from peripheral blood (11 patients) or bone marrow (1 patient). Six female patients had received transplants from a male donor. Five had received a sex-matched transplant, and one had received an autologous transplant. Hematopoietic stem-cell engraftment was verified by cytogenetic analysis or restriction-fragment--length polymorphism analysis. The biopsies were studied for the presence of donor-derived epithelial cells or hepatocytes with the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization of interphase nuclei and immunohistochemical staining for cytokeratin, CD45 (leukocyte common antigen), and a hepatocyte-specific antigen.


RESULTS
All six recipients of sex-mismatched transplants showed evidence of complete hematopoietic donor chimerism. XY-positive epithelial cells or hepatocytes accounted for 0 to 7 percent of the cells in histologic sections of the biopsy specimens. These cells were detected in liver tissue as early as day 13 and in skin tissue as late as day 354 after the transplantation of peripheral-blood stem cells. The presence of donor cells in the biopsy specimens did not seem to depend on the intensity of tissue damage induced by graft-versus-host disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Circulating stem cells can differentiate into mature hepatocytes and epithelial cells of the skin and gastrointestinal tract.
Körbling
Martin
M
Departments of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030, USA. mkorblin@mdanderson.org
Katz
Ruth L
RL
Khanna
Abha
A
Ruifrok
Arnout C
AC
Rondon
Gabriela
G
Albitar
Maher
M
Champlin
Richard E
RE
Estrov
Zeev
Z
D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D004064:Digestive System / Q000166:cytology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology; D018183:Transplantation Chimera; D014998:Y Chromosome