Umbilical cord blood-selected CD133(+) cells exhibit vasculogenic functionality in vitro and in vivo

Current clinical trials utilize non-selected bone marrow (BM) mononuclear cells (MNC) to augment vasculo genesis within ischemic vascular beds. Recent reports have identified a diminished number and function of hemat-opoietic stem cells (HSC) from aged and diseased patients. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) provides a potential robust allo-geneic source of HSC for therapeutic vasculogenesis.

MNC and magnetically isolated CD133(+) cells were assessed for viability (trypan blue) and surface phenotype (flow cytometry). To test in vivo functionality of the cells, NOD/SCID mice underwent ligation of the right femoral artery followed immediately by cell injection. Blood flow recovery, necrosis, BM engraftment of human cells and histologic capillary density were determined. Cells were tested for potential mechanisms mediating the in vivo effects, including migration, cytokine secretion and angiogenic augmentation (Matrigel assays).

Surface expression analysis showed CD31 (PECAM) expression was greatly increased in UCB CD133(+) cells compared with BM MNC. At 28 days, perfusion ratios were highest in animals receiving UCB CD133(+) cells, while animals receiving BM CD133(+) cells and BM MNC demonstrated perfusion ratios statistically higher than in animals treated with cytokine media alone. Animals receiving CD133(+) cells showed a statistically higher capillary density, reduced severe digit necrosis and increased engraftment in the BM than animals treated with unselected BM MNC. In vitro studies showed equivalent migration to stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), increased production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and increased branch points with the co-incubation of CD133(+) cells with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in the Matrigel angiogenesis assay.

Taken together, UCB CD133(+) cells exhibit robust vasculogenic functionality compared with BM MNC in response to ischemia.