title: Induction of vascular endothelial phenotype and cellular  proliferation from human cord blood stem cells cultured  in simulated microgravity.
abstract: Recent studies have demonstrated that stem cells derived from adult hematopoietic tissues are capable of trans-differentiation into non-hematopoietic cells, and that the culture in microgravity (microg) may modulate the proliferation and differentiation. We investigated the application of microg to human umbilical cord blood stem cells (CBSC) in the induction of vascular endothelial phenotype expression and cellular proliferation. CD34+ mononuclear cells were isolated from waste human umbilical cord blood samples and cultured in simulated microg for 14 days. The cells were seeded in rotary wall vessels (RWV) with or without microcarrier beads (MCB) and vascular endothelial growth factor was added during culture. Controls consisted of culture in 1 G. The cell cultures in RWV were examined by inverted microscopy. Cell counts, endothelial cell and leukocyte markers performed by flow cytometry and FACS scan were assayed at days 1, 4, 7 and at the termination of the experiments. Culture in RWV revealed significantly increased cellular proliferation with three-dimensional (3D) tissue-like aggregates. At day 4, CD34+ cells cultured in RWV bioreactor without MCB developed vascular tubular assemblies and exhibited endothelial phenotypic markers. These data suggest that CD34+ human umbilical cord blood progenitors are capable of trans-differentiation into vascular endothelial cell phenotype and assemble into 3D tissue structures. Culture of CBSC in simulated microg may be potentially beneficial in the fields of stem cell biology and somatic cell therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta Hospitals, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. bchiu@cha.ab.ca
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Jim Z-M
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abley
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Akabutu
mesh_terms: D018952:Antigens, CD34; D019149:Bioreactors; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000166:cytology; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear; D010641:Phenotype; D012399:Rotation; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 / Q000502:physiology; D018474:Weightlessness Simulation
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2