Korean J Pediatr Hematol Oncol.  2000 Apr;7(1):1-8.

The Frequency of CD34 and CD34 CD38 Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells in the Cord Blood and Adult Peripheral Blood

• Im HJ
• Ahn SY
• Lee H
• Kong G

Abstract

PURPOSE: The umbilical cord blood has been considered as an alternative source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation. The CD34+ is known as a common stem cell antigen and the CD34+ CD38- immunophenotype reportedly defines a primitive subpopulation of progenitor cells. In this study the frequency of CD34+ and CD34+ CD38- hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells in placental/cord blood (UCB), and adult peripheral blood (PB) were determined.
METHODS
Between July and September 1998, 27 collections of UCB were performed at the obstetric units of Hanyang University Hospital. Fifteen adult PB samples were also obtained for control.
RESULTS
The frequency of total CD34+ cells in UCB was higher (1.13+/-0.58% vs 0.46+/-0.30%, P=0.0002) than PB and the frequency of CD34+ CD38- cells in UCB was also greater (0.02+/-0.02 vs 0.01+/-0.01, P=0.035) than PB. The majority of UCB- and PB-derived CD34+ cells expressed CD38- antigen (98.22+/-2.11% in UCB and 97.85+/-2.56% in PB). The frequency of CD38- expression by UCB derived CD34+ cells was slightly higher (not statistically significant) than that by PB derived CD34+ cells. The frequency of CD34+ cells was increased linearly with birth weight (r=0.413).
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that UCB could be a useful source of highly primitive hematopoietic stem cells for marrow reconstitution after bone marrow ablation.

Keyword

Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells; Umbilical cord blood; CD34+ cells; CD34+ CD38- cells

MeSH Terms

Adult*
Birth Weight
Bone Marrow
Fetal Blood*
Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Humans
Stem Cells