Associations among nucleated cell, CD34+ cell and colony-forming cell contents in cord blood units obtained through a standardized banking process.

摘要

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Nucleated cell content is one of the main components used when evaluating cord blood (CB) units for clinical use. However, other indicators of the haematopoietic potential of a CB unit, such as CD34+ cell and colony-forming cell (CFU-TOT) content, have also been investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether the CD34+ cell content could be used in selecting CB collections for banking. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The collection data, as well as cellular contents of 588 CB collections obtained using a standardized CB banking process, were analysed. RESULTS: Altogether, 526 CB units from the 588 collections accepted for processing were included in international search registries. The volume collected was, as expected, 69 ml (range 28-116 ml). The correlation between total CD34+ cell and CFU-TOT (n = 88) content in the CB collection was higher (r = 0.87) than the correlation between the total nucleated cell and CFU-TOT content (r = 0.69, both P < 0.0001). The correlations of pre- and postvolume reduction values of the total nucleated cell and CD34+ cell numbers were highly significant (r = 0.96, P < 0.0001, both). The total CFU-TOT content of the CB collection correlated significantly with the total CD34+ cell content of the CB unit before cryopreservation (but after volume reduction) (r = 0.89, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: CD34+ cell content predicts the haematopoietic potential of a CB unit better than nucleated cell content. Accordingly, the CD34+ cell content of CB could be used to select CB for banking purposes and for transplantation.