Temporal Differences in Terminal Erythroid Differentiation of Human CD34+ Cells Derived From Cord Blood and Adult Peripheral Blood

Abstract 3200

Purified CD34+ cells derived from either cord blood (CB) or peripheral blood (PB) are currently being used to further our molecular and mechanistic understanding of human terminal erythroid differentiation. What is unclear is whether there are differences in the kinetics of terminal erythroid differentiation of CD34+ cells from these two sources. In the present study, we document that terminal differentiation in cultured CD34+ cells purified from peripheral blood is faster than that of CD34+ cells from cord blood. For these studies, we optimized an 18 day, three phase, in vitro culture system using CD34+ cells to obtain enucleated reticulocytes. In this system, proerythroblasts are generated starting at day 6 which further differentiate during the duration of culture to eventually generate reticulocytes. Based on the expression of various membrane surface markers, we used flow cytometry to quantitatively monitor terminal erythroid differentiation from proerythroblasts to enucleated reticulocytes during culture. The three surface markers, alpha-4 integrin, band 3 and CD36 enabled us to clearly distinguish between all distinct stages of terminal erythroid differentiation – proerythroblasts, early- and late- basophilic erythroblasts, polychromatic and orthochromatic erythroblasts. These analyses enabled us to show that CD34+ cells purified and cultured from peripheral blood underwent terminal erythroid differentiation at a faster rate than CD34+ cells from cord blood. Terminal erythroid differentiation in cord blood cultures was delayed on an average of 2 to 3 days compared to peripheral blood. For example, the surface protein expression pattern seen on days 11–12 of cell culture of peripheral CD34+ cells was not achieved in cord blood cultures until day 14. This delay in terminal differentiation was also reflected by increased extents of enucleation in peripheral blood cultures compared to cord blood (culture day 12: 33% enucleation in PB and 7% in CB and on day 14: 45% enucleation in PB and 19% in CB). These findings have enabled us to document significant differences between the kinetics of terminal erythroid differentiation of CD34+ cells derived from fetal cord and adult peripheral blood. While at the present time we do not have a mechanistic understanding for this difference, we are currently exploring if the observed differences may be related to differences in cell cycle dynamics between fetal and adult erythropopiesis.