Mondragón-García I, Flores-Guzmán P, Mayani H. Human cord blood hematopoietic cells acquire neural features when cultured in the presence of neurogenic cytokines.
Blood Cells Mol Dis 2020;
85:102485. [PMID:
32836190 DOI:
10.1016/j.bcmd.2020.102485]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In vitro growth of hematopoietic cells depends on the presence of hematopoietic cytokines. To date, it is unclear if these cells would be able to respond to non-hematopoietic cytokines. In the present study, we have explored this by culturing human hematopoietic cells in presence of neurogenic cytokines. Lineage-negative (Lin-) umbilical cord blood (UCB)-derived cells -enriched for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells- were cultured in presence of different combinations of hematopoietic cytokines, neurotrophins, epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and neurogenic culture media, in a 3-phase culture system. A proportion (1-22%) of Lin- UCB hematopoietic cells normally express neural markers and are capable of responding to neural cytokines. Neural cytokines did not have effects on hematopoietic cell proliferation; however, we observed generation of neural-like cells, assessed by morphology, and a significant increase in the proportion of cells expressing neural markers. Such neural-like cells, however, retained expression of hematopoietic markers. It seems that under our culture conditions, no actual transdifferentiation of hematopoietic cells into neural cells occurred; instead, the cells generated in culture seem to be hematopoietic cells that acquired neural features upon contact with neurogenic factors. The identity of UCB cells that acquired a neural phenotype is still unclear.
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