Beneficial effects of reduced oxygen tension and perfusion in long-term hematopoietic cultures

Growth of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells found in the MNC fraction of human cord blood was evaluated under atmospheres containing reduced (5%) and normal (20%) oxygen tension. Reduced oxygen tension increased total cell numbers by as much as 5-fold in cord blood suspension cultures, but this effect was less pronounced in cultures containing an irradiated bone marrow stromal cell layer. However, reduced oxygen tension resulted in a substantial increase in both the number and frequency of colony-forming cells observed in both types of LTHC studied. Under low oxygen, CFU-C progenitor cell numbers were as much as 10-fold higher. Finally, reduced oxygen tension slowed the rate of irradiated stromal layer degeneration, as judged by cell counts and microscopic examination. These results indicate that low oxygen, which better approximates the in vivo environment, enhances the growth and maintenance of human stromal and progenitor cells in vitro. These low oxygen findings were then applied to a murine model LTHC perfusion system. In this system, irradiated 3T3 stromal layer integrity was improved under low oxygen and was substantially further improved with continuous medium perfusion. Cell counts and flow cytometry analysis indicated that the total cell production and the production of immature cells from murine bone marrow MNC on irradiated 3T3 cells were significantly enhanced under low oxygen with perfusion. After three weeks of culture, a 24-fold higher number of Thy1.2lo F4/80- MAC1- cells (indicative of murine stem and progenitor cells) was observed in the perfusion system as compared with static culture under ambient oxygen.