title: [Mesenchymal cells and fibrocytes in peripheral blood. Culture conditions].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The fibrocytes, the mesenchymal cells and the colony forming units are included in the concept fibroblast-like, peripheral-blood circulating stem cells. The aim of this work was to establish the culture conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 25 samples collected from the cephalic vein. These were cultured in McCoy's 5A enriched with 20% of foetal bovine serum. The culture was read at 7, 14 and 21 days, evaluating the proliferation, confluence and the round cell/spindle cell ratio. Moreover the 21st day surface markers and phagocytic activity testing was carried out.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Growth was achieved in all the cases but only in two dishes were confluence areas retrieved. Spindle cells were 36 ± 3.71% (mean ± SD). All the cells showed intense signal against vimentin, CD34 marker and the NBT test were positives.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clear CD34 expression, positivity against a connective tissue marker such as vimentin and positivity in a phagocytic assay like the NBT-test, support that stem cells, monocytes and fibroblasts share common characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Física y Rehabilitación. Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa. Zaragoza. España.
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gómez-Ochoa
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: López-Lahoz
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cativiela
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villarroya-Aparicio
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marín-Redondo