Tumor necrosis factor promotes T-cell at the expense of B-cell lymphoid development from cultured human CD34+ cord blood cells.
OBJECTIVE
Human CD34+ cord blood (CB) cells are hematopoietic progenitors useful for stem cell transplantation, even after ex vivo expansion. We investigated the effect of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) on lymphoid development from cultured CD34+ CB cells.


METHODS
Human CD34+ CB cells were cultured in cytokine mixes with or without TNF. Preculture during 60 hours was followed by in vitro differentiation assays, including fetal thymus organ culture and coculture on murine stromal MS-5 cells. In a next step, experiments were extended to CD34+CD38- and CD34+CD38+ CB cells and prolonged preculture.


RESULTS
Preculture in the presence of TNF improved differentiation into T cells and diminished the ability to generate B cells, while NK potential and myeloid development were unaffected. Sorted CD34+CD38- CB cells were more potent T-cell precursors after preculture in TNF, compared to CD34+CD38+ CB cells. In precultured CD34+CD38- CB cells, TNF increased GATA3 but decreased EBF1 expression, in line with the skewed lymphoid differentiation induced by TNF. However, when preculture in the presence of TNF was extended to 1 week, T-cell precursors were lost.


CONCLUSIONS
After short-term culture of CD34+ CB cells in the presence of TNF, T-cell generation is stimulated at the expense of B-cell generation. T-cell progenitors are enriched in the CD34+CD38- fraction. These results have implications on the culture conditions to be used for CB CD34+ cells prior to transplantation.
Smits
Kaatje
K
Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium.
De Smedt
Magda
M
Naessens
Evelien
E
De Smet
Greet
G
Stove
Veronique
V
Taghon
Tom
T
Plum
Jean
J
Verhasselt
Bruno
B
D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha