Human cord blood hematopoietic cells acquire neural features when cultured in the presence of neurogenic cytokines.

Human cord blood hematopoietic cells acquire neural features when cultured in the presence of neurogenic cytokines.
Blood Cells Mol Dis. 2020 Aug 15;85:102485
Authors: Mondragón-García I, Flores-Guzmán P, Mayani H
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 genera...

Source: Blood Cells, Molecules and Diseases - August 14, 2020 Category: Hematology Authors: Mondragón-García I, Flores-Guzmán P, Mayani H Tags: Blood Cells Mol Dis Source Type: research