体外培养脐血单个核细胞与CD34+富集细胞

对比MNC和CD34⁺富集细胞在SCF+IL-3+IL-6+FL+Tpo细胞因子组合下的体外扩增特性,发现：CD34⁺富集细胞具有很高的扩增潜力,在本实验条件下其总细胞持续扩增了8周,扩增倍数达31270.9±8640.5倍;而MNC在培养至第4周扩增就已呈现下降趋势,最大仅扩增了53.3±6.2倍。对比集落和CD34⁺细胞的扩增发现,MNC的集落密度和CD34⁺细胞含量由第0天至第7天有一个上升的过程,而CD34⁺富集细胞在培养过程中,集落密度和CD34⁺细胞含量却始终呈下降趋势。在体外培养过程中,CD34⁺富集细胞的CFU-GM和CD34⁺细胞最大分别扩增了185.7±14.1和191.7±188.8倍,明显高于MNC的12.4±3.2和50.6±33.2倍;而CD34⁺富集细胞和MNC的BFU-E则只实现了少量扩增,分别为7.2±5.2和10.1±3.4倍。结果显示,从CD34⁺富集细胞出发扩增造血干/祖细胞,可以得到更多的CD34⁺细胞和CFU-GM集落形成细胞。      

用悬浮搅拌培养体系体外大量扩增人脐血造血干/祖细胞

目的 :建立一种简便、有效的脐血造血干 /祖细胞体外大量扩增培养体系。方法 :淋巴细胞分离液分离的脐血单个核细胞在SCF ,IL - 3,IL - 6三种细胞因子的作用下 ,于悬浮搅拌培养体系中培养 ,分析其总细胞数、CFU -GM、CD34+ 细胞的扩增倍数。结果 :脐血单个核细胞在悬浮搅拌培养体系中培养 12天后 ,其总细胞数、CFU -GM、CD34+ 细胞的扩增倍数分别为 6 .31± 1.5 2 ,2 0 .6 3± 1.5 4和 7.11± 1.12。结论 :悬浮搅拌培养体系是脐血造血干 /祖细胞体外大量扩增的有效培养体系。     

一种新型生物反应器在造血干/祖细胞体外扩增中的应用

针对造血干/祖细胞体外扩增对培养环境的需求, 结合静/动态培养的特点, 开发了一种新型的生物反应器用于造血干/祖细胞的体外扩增。在该生物反应器内, 采用SCF+TPO+Flt-3细胞因子组合, 比较了静态和循环培养两种方式体外扩增脐血CD34+细胞的效果。培养7 d后, 总细胞分别扩增了(13.86 ± 4.26)和(7.23 ± 2.67)倍, 显示静态培养有利于总细胞的扩增; CD34+细胞扩增倍数、培养物中CD34+细胞含量均相近, 无显著性差异; 而CD34+CD38-细胞扩增倍数以及培养物中CD34+CD38?细胞的百分含量分别为(1.82 ± 0.58)和(3.90 ± 0.85)倍以及(9.45 ± 4.85)和(37.47 ± 14.06)%, 循环培养明显高于静态培养。可见, 在该生物反应器内, 采用静态和循环两种培养方式, 均能实现造血干/祖细胞的体外扩增, 但静态培养促使造血干细胞向定向祖细胞分化, 而循环培养则更有利于早期造血干细胞的扩增。     

肝素促进脐血巨核祖细胞体外扩增

目的 :探索肝素在脐带血CD34⁺ 细胞定向扩增巨核祖细胞中的作用。方法采用免疫磁珠法 (MACS)分选CD34⁺ 细胞 ,在TPO ,IL 1 1的扩增体系中加入肝素 ,巨核祖细胞集落分析 (CFU MK)测定巨核祖细胞扩增倍数 ,流式细胞仪检测巨核祖细胞分化过程中的特异性标记 (CD34⁺ ,CD41a⁺ ,CD61⁺ ,CD34⁺ CD41a⁺ ,CD41a⁺ CD61 ⁺ ) ,巨核细胞特异性抗体 (CD41a)免疫组化染色和透射电镜观察鉴定巨核细胞形态及超微结构 ,血小板体外活化实验及NOD/SCID小鼠异种体内移植实验评价扩增的巨核祖细胞的功能。结果 :TPO( 5 0ng/ml)与IL-1 1 ( 5 0ng/ml)双因子联合应用 ,7天巨核祖细胞克隆扩增倍数为 83 1 7± 39 41倍 ,1 0天为 2 0 5 0 6± 74 2 6倍 ,流式细胞仪分析显示 7天CD34⁺ CD41a+ 细胞扩增 1 0 5 1± 4 79倍 ,0天加入肝素后 ,7天巨核祖细胞克隆扩增倍数为 1 0 8 2 5± 32 67倍 ,1 0天为 333 0 6± 2 7 5 4倍 ,7天CD34⁺ CD41a⁺ 细胞扩增到 2 9 93± 6 39倍 ,为无肝素组的 2.85倍 ,与双因子组相比有统计学差异 (P <0.0 1 ) ,肝素在第 5天及第 7天加入没有增加巨核祖细胞扩增效果。经全身照射预处理的NOD/SCID小鼠静脉输注扩增第 7天的巨核细胞 (TPO、IL-11、肝素联合 ) ,可明显加速其血小板及白细胞计数的恢复并提高生存率 ;同时 ,体外血小板活化实验证实扩增的巨核细胞在体外可产生血小板 ,有正常巨核细胞功能。结论 :TPO、IL-11组合的扩增体系中加入肝素可进一步改善脐带血巨核祖细胞的扩增效果 ,优化体外扩增体系。     

Wnt3a 转基因基质细胞的建立及其对脐血CD34+ 造血干/祖细胞扩增作用的研究

Wnt 信号通路在造血干/祖细胞自我更新的过程中发挥至关重要的作用 . 纯化的 Wnt3a 蛋白可以实现造血干/祖细胞的扩增 . 通过病毒转染原代小鼠骨髓基质细胞,建立转基因滋养层细胞 . 通过共培养对转基因滋养层细胞扩增 CD34+ 造血干/祖细胞的作用进行了研究 . 实验结果显示 , 与普通滋养层加细胞因子组相比,经转基因滋养层加细胞因子组培养的 CD34+造血干/祖细胞集落形成能力 (CFC) 是其 (1.55±0.06) 倍;混合集落形成能力是其 (1.95±0.26) 倍;高增殖潜能集落形成能力 (HPP-CFC) 是其 (1.45±0.40) 倍; LTC-IC 活性是其 (3.83±0.86) 倍 . 结果表明,转基因滋养层细胞通过分泌具有天然活性的 Wnt3a 蛋白能在体外有效地扩增造血干/祖细胞的数量 .     

低氧对CD34~ 造血干/祖细胞增殖分化及其对细胞因子依赖性的影响

采用免疫磁珠法分离脐血CD34 造血干 /祖细胞 ,进行低氧和常氧条件下单个核细胞 (MNC)及CD34 细胞的半固体及液体培养 ,计细胞总数和集落产率 ,并通过流式细胞仪检测细胞表型和细胞周期 ,以探讨造血干/祖细胞在低氧环境下增殖分化性能的改变及其对细胞因子反应性的变化。结果显示 :CD34 细胞在低氧条件下生成的BFU E集落数 ( 32 4 8± 41 4/10 4 细胞 )明显增多 (对照为 191 2± 34 5 /10 4 细胞 ,P <0 0 1) ;在无细胞因子存在的液体培养体系中 ,低氧组的BFU E产率 ( 15 2 4± 2 2 6 /10 4 细胞 )明显高于常氧组 ( 74 2± 9 3/10 4 细胞 ,P <0 0 1) ;低氧培养细胞中CD34 细胞的比例高于对照 2 5± 1 2倍 (P <0 0 5 )。但MNC生成的BFU E在常氧和低氧条件下无显著差异。这些结果表明 :体外低氧环境能显著增加CD34 造血干 /祖细胞形成红系祖细胞的产率 ,且使其对细胞因子的依赖性降低 ,并对早期红系祖细胞的维持有增强作用 ,但对粒系祖细胞的增殖则有抑制作用     

FL对脐血造血细胞长期液体培养的影响*

用脐血进行千细胞移植有许多优点,但有一个主要的缺点是可获得的细胞数量有限。因此脐血干细胞的体外扩增对于其临床应用具有重要意义。考察了Flt-3配体(FL)和干细胞因子(SCF)、白介索3(IL一3)、IL-6、粒细胞集落刺激因子(G-csF)、粒细胞巨噬细胞集落刺激因子(GM—CSF)的组合对脐血细胞扩增和分化的影响。培养42d,总细胞最多扩增了385,30±163 51倍(FL+SCF+G．CSF+GM—CSF),粒细胞巨噬细胞集落形成单位(CFU-GM)在第28天达到最高,最高扩增了409．52±189．50倍(FL十SCF+IL-3+IL一6)。FL与SCF等细胞因子具有协同作用,对所有考察的细胞因子组合中,加入FL都使总细胞和CFUGM的扩增倍数增加。FL+SCF培养的总细胞扩增最小,而CFU-GM长时间保持在较高水平,表明这FL和SCF有利于保持造血干细胞的活性,防止细胞分化。在存在G-CSF和GMCSF的培养中,总细胞获得了最大的扩增,但CFU-GM达到最大后很快下降至O,表明G-CSF和GM—CSF促进了细胞的分化。结果提示,细胞因子组合对脐血造血细胞的扩增和分化具有重要的作用．FL和SCF可促进造血细胞的扩增,而G-CSF和GM—CSF等可导致细胞的过度分化。     

脐带间充质干细胞联合UM171对脐血源CD34~+细胞的扩增效果研究

目的研究脐带间充质干细胞联合UM171对脐血来源CD34~+细胞的扩增效果。方法脐血来源CD34~+细胞及脐带来源间充质干细胞分为以下4组进行体外扩增培养10 d:对照组、UM171培养组、间充质干细胞共培养组、UM171联合间充质干细胞共培养组,采用方差分析比较不同组别间细胞扩增倍数及流式表型和集落培养情况。结果脐带间充质干细胞CD105,CD73,CD90,不表达CD14,CD34,CD19,CD45,HLA-DR,经过诱导可以向成骨细胞、脂肪细胞、软骨细胞分化。CD34~+细胞在不同条件下体外培养10 d后,UM171培养组总有核细胞数扩增14倍,CD34~+细胞扩增13.5倍;MSCs共培养组总有核细胞数扩增11倍,CD34~+细胞扩增10倍;联合培养组总有核细胞数扩增达22倍,CD34~+细胞扩增21倍。联合培养组扩增后细胞CD34~+CD38~-比例达(91.49±2.67)﹪,较间充质干细胞培养组(78.11±2.35)﹪及UM171培养组(91.49±2.68)﹪相比差异具有统计学意义(P均0.01)。扩增后细胞集落培养14 d后,各系集落形成良好,UM171扩增组细胞较MSCs扩增组在红系及粒系形成能力方面存在优势。结论脐带血间充质干细胞作为细胞滋养层可提高CD34~+细胞体外扩增效果,UM171在扩增过程中可较好的保持细胞干性,二者联合应用扩增效果最佳,建立的脐带间充质干细胞联合UM171对脐血源CD34~+细胞的扩增方法可用于CD34~+细胞体外扩增培养。     

转基因骨髓基质细胞系对人脐血CD34+细胞的体外扩增作用

为探讨转染FL和/或TPO基因骨髓基质细胞系对脐血CD34+细胞的体外扩增效应, 建立了转基因骨髓基质细胞系共培养体系. 采用免疫磁珠法分离人脐血CD34+细胞, 在CD34+细胞不同体外培养体系中取样测试细胞总数、CD34+细胞百分率和CFC(包括CFU-GM 和BFU-E). 结果表明, 在8种不同组合的培养体系中, 转基因基质细胞共培养体系较无基质液体培养体系对细胞总数, CFC, CD34+细胞均具有明显的扩增效应, 其中以SCF + IL-3 + HFT扩增效果最好, 分别扩增了(893.3±52.1), (74.5±5.2)和15.7倍. CFU-GM和BFU-E在第2周时达扩增高峰, 扩增倍数分别为(78.1±5.5)和(57.0±19.7). LTC-IC测定结果显示, 只有SCF + IL-3 + FL + TPO和SCF + IL-3 + HFT组有LTC-IC的存在, 统计学检验无显著性差异. 上述结果提示, 转基因骨髓基质细胞系可通过细胞间的接触协同其他细胞因子增强对脐血CD34+细胞的体外扩增作用.     

不同降温速率对脐血干细胞冷冻复苏后生物学特性的影响

考察了不同降温速率对脐血造血干细胞各种生物学特性的影响。在4℃～-40℃的降温范围内,分别选择-0.5℃/min, -1℃/min, -5℃/min的降温速率进行降温,对复苏后的脐血单个核细胞的回收率、活性和CD34+含量的变化以及BFU-E、CFUGM和CFU-MK集落的回收率进行了考察,发现在-1℃/min的降温速率下,脐血MNC回收率可达93.3%±1.8%,活性可达95.0%±3.9%, CD34^＋细胞回收率达80.0%±17.9%,BFUE回收率为87.1%±5.5%,CFUGM回收率达88.5%±8.9%,CFUMK的回收率也达到86.2%±7.4%。并且对复苏后的细胞进一步进行体外培养,发现在-1℃/min的降温速率下复苏的细胞仍然具有与未经冷冻细胞相似的扩增能力,而-0.5℃/min和-5℃/min这两种降温速率条件下复苏的细胞与未经冷冻的细胞相比差距较大。因而-1℃/min的降温速率对冻存脐血干细胞比较合适。     

Ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood in rotating wall vessel

Expansion of umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (UCB MNCs) was carried out in a rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor and tissue culture flasks (T-flasks) in serum-containing medium supplemented with relatively low doses of purified recombinant human cytokines (5.33 ng/ml IL-3, 16 ng/ml SCF, 3.33 ng/ml G-CSF, 2.13 ng/ml GM-CSF, 7.47 ng/ml FL and 7.47 ng/ml TPO) for 8 days. The cell density, pH and osmolality of the culture medium in the two culture systems were measured every 24h. Flow cytometric assay for CD34+ cells was carried out at 0, 144 and 197 h and methylcellulose colony assays were performed at 0, 72, 144 and 197 h. The pH and osmolality of the medium in the two culture systems were maintained in the proper ranges for hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and progenitors culture. The RWV bioreactor, combined with a cell-dilution feeding protocol, was efficient to expand UCB MNCs. At the end of 200 h culture, the total cell number was multiplied by 435.5+/-87.6 times, and CD34+ cells 32.7+/-15.6 times, and colony-forming units of granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) 21.7+/-4.9 times. While in T-flasks, however, total cells density changed mildly, CD34+ cells and CFU-GM decreased in number. It is demonstrated that the RWV bioreactor can provide a better environment for UCB MNCs expansion, enhance the contact between HSCs and accessory cells and make the utilization of cytokines more effective than T-flask.     

Ex vivo expansion and clonality of CD34+ selected cells from bone marrow and cord blood in a serum-free media

Although umbilical cord blood is increasingly being used in allogeneic marrow transplantation, delayed platelet engraftment is often a concern for cord blood transplant recipients. We evaluated the potential of ex vivo expansion and clonality in CD34+ cells separated from a bone marrow source, and cord blood, in a serum-free Media. The CD34+ cells, selected from bone marrow (BM) and umbilical cord blood (CB), were expanded with hematopoietic growth factors. They were then cultured for burst-forming units of erythrocytes (BFU-E), colony-forming units of granulocytes and monocytes (CFU-GM) and colony-forming units of megakaryocytes (CFU-Mk) at days 0, 4, 7, and 14 under the combination of growth factors, with cell counts. The cytokines included the recombinant human megakaryocyte growth and development (100 ng/ml), interleukin-3 (10 ng/ml), stem cell factor (100 ng/ml), flt-3 ligand (50 ng/ml) and interleukin-11 (200 ng/ml). The CB-selected CD34+ cells showed significantly higher total cell expansion than those from the BM at day 7 (3.0 fold increase than BM), day 14 (2.4 fold), and day 17 (2.6 fold). The colony count of the BFU-E/CFU-E per CD34+ cell at day 0 was 0.14 +/- 0.023 in the CB, which was significantly higher than 0.071 +/- 0.015 in the BM. The CB-selected CD34+ cells produced more BFU-E colonies than the BM on culture days 4, 7, and 14. The BFU-E colonies from the CB cells increased markedly on culture days 4 and 7, with a 4-fold increase at day 14. The colony count of the CFU-Mk per CD34+ cell at day 0 was 0.047 +/- 0.011 in the CB-selected CD34+ cells cultures, which was higher than the 0.026 +/- 0.014 in the BM. The CB-selected CD34+ cells produced more CFU-Mk colonies than the BM on culture days 4, 7 and 14. In conclusion, the ex vivo expansion of the CB cells may be very promising in producing total cellular expansion, CFU-Mk and BFU-E compared with BM, especially at day 7. The ex vivo expansion of the CB may have rationale in making an ex vivo culture for 7 to 14 d.     

造血细胞体外悬浮培养和生物反应器开发

为解决造血细胞的静态培养中由浓度梯度引起的培养不稳定、环境不均一、难放大等问题,首先采用转瓶对脐血单个核细胞进行了悬浮培养研究,结果表明,悬浮培养中总细胞、集落和CD34^＋细胞的扩增都高于静态的方瓶培养。在测试了所用材料生物相容性的基础上,开发了可以控制溶氧和pH的生物反应器,并将其应用到造血细胞的批培养中,结果表明反应器的培养环境均一,可实现较高密度的培养,而且总细胞、集落和CD34^＋细胞的扩增都优于静态培养。大规模的反应器培养有利于解决临床应用中细胞数量不足的问题。     

Replating of bioreactor expanded human bone marrow results in extended growth of primitive and mature cells

The capability to expand human bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM MNC) in high density perfusion culture chambers (bioreactors) has recently been developed. In these bioreactors, total cell colony-forming unit-granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM), and long-term culture-initiating cell (LTC-IC) numbers increase significantly over a 14-day period. However, cell growth ceases after the 14-day period, possibly due to cell density limitations. Because of the remaining presence of early cells, it should be feasible to replate the cells and obtain continued expansion. In this study, we demonstrate that bioreactors generate cells, which upon replating into secondary bioreactors, lead to continued cell, CFU-GM, and LTC-IC₈ (measured after 8 weeks of secondary culture) expansion. A two-stage protocol, involving the replating of cells on days 9 to 12 of culture into new bioreators at the original seeding density, yielded greater than 50-fold cell expansion from BM MNC in 25 days. CFU-GM were expanded inhibitory factor (LIF) had no significant effect on total cells, CFU-GM, or LTC-IC₅ in this system. We conclude that two-stage bioreactor cultures are capable of supporting extended growth of human BM MNC, CFU-GM, and LTC-IC₈. The continued expansion of these primitive cells in the second stage of culture suggests that primitive cells with significant proliferative potential were generated in this system, and previous data on LTC-IC₅ expansion has now been extended to LTC-IC₈ expansion. Further optimization of culture conditions is likely to improve on the results obtained here, thus making perfusion bioreactor culture correspondingly more attractive for expanding BM MNC for BM transplantation.     

一种新型生物反应器在造血干/祖细胞体外扩增中的应用

针对造血干/祖细胞体外扩增对培养环境的需求, 结合静/动态培养的特点, 开发了一种新型的生物反应器用于造血干/祖细胞的体外扩增.在该生物反应器内, 采用SCF TPO Flt-3细胞因子组合, 比较了静态和循环培养两种方式体外扩增脐血CD34 细胞的效果.培养7 d后, 总细胞分别扩增了(13.86 ± 4.26)和(7.23 ± 2.67)倍, 显示静态培养有利于总细胞的扩增; CD34 细胞扩增倍数、培养物中CD34 细胞含量均相近, 无显著性差异; 而CD34 CD38-细胞扩增倍数以及培养物中CD34 CD38-细胞的百分含量分别为(1.82 ± 0.58)和(3.90 ± 0.85)倍以及(9.45 ± 4.85)和(37.47 ± 14.06)%, 循环培养明显高于静态培养.可见, 在该生物反应器内, 采用静态和循环两种培养方式, 均能实现造血干/祖细胞的体外扩增, 但静态培养促使造血干细胞向定向祖细胞分化, 而循环培养则更有利于早期造血干细胞的扩增.     

In vitro differentiation characteristics of cultured human mononuclear cells-implications for endothelial progenitor cell biology

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. By use of quantitative uptake of DiLDL and lectin staining, EPCs have been characterized reliably. However, the exact nature and function of this cell population still remains poorly defined. In an attempt to further clarify the cell surface characteristics of EPCs, mononuclear cells (MNCs) were isolated from human blood and cell surface expression patterns were defined by FACS analysis before and after differentiation for 1-10 days in cell culture. "Classical" double staining for DiLDL and Ulex europaeus increases to 89.2 /- 0.05 after 10 days in culture. Looking at EPC-specific markers by FACS analysis, 0.18 +/- 0.11% of freshly isolated MNCs express CD34, 0.13 +/- 0.08% CD133, 0.59 +/-0.51% VEGFr2, 0.01 +/- 0.02% CD34/VEGFr2, 0.09 +/- 0.05% CD34/CD133, 0.58 +/- 0.13% CD34/CD31, and 0.02 +/- 0.01% CD34/CD146, respectively. Induction of the endothelial phenotype is evidenced by positive staining for VEGFr2, CD146, and CD31, and occurs in co-expression with stem cell markers in less than 2 +/- 0.52% of cultured cells. Expression of CD34 increases to 0.38 +/- 0.10% after 10 days, whereas the CD133(+) cell population shows an initial peak at 24h (0.29 +/- 0.18%) before decreasing to 0.15 +/- 0.02% at day 10. EPCs co-expressing CD34/CD133 increase to 0.19 +/- 0.09% after 10 days, and EPCs double-positive for CD34/VEGFr2 increase to 1.45 +/- 1.03%. Looking at leukocyte, lymphocyte, and monocyte lineage markers, 56.27 +/- 0.15% of freshly isolated MNCs express CD45, 7.13 +/- 0.02% CD14, and 38.65 +/- 0.01% CD3. Over the 10-day culture period, expression of CD45 decreases to 28.48 +/- 0.18%, CD3 to 23.11 +/- 0.02%, and CD14 to 0.09 +/- 0.02%. Cells co-expressing CD3/CD45 decrease from 38.88 +/- 0.33% to 24.86 +/- 2.49% after 10 days in culture. These findings extend present knowledge by showing that human MNCs differentiate at a very low rate to EPCs, while a majority of the cultured cell population remain committed to the leukocyte or lymphocyte lineage. Careful surface marker analysis might be necessary when using in vitro EPC differentiation systems.     

Stimulation of human T cell colony growth by a lymphocyte colony enhancement factor derived from lymphocyte subpopulations

Blood mononuclear cells (MNC) develop into T cell colonies when the cells are sensitized with PHA and seeded in a two-layer soft agar system. Conditioned medium (CM) derived from MNC enhanced lymphocyte colony formation when it was added to the culture system. CFU-TL appear to be stimulated into colony formation by molecules secreted by lymphocyte subpopulations contained in the seeded cells. In this study, human peripheral blood MNC were fractionated by a battery of techniques into adherent, E+, CD4+, CD8+, B and null cells. CM was prepared from each of the subpopulations and its effects on T cell colony growth assayed. All the lymphocyte subpopulations were found to generate lymphocyte colony enhancement factor (LCEF). After several purification procedures, CM prepared from CD4 and CD8+, displayed LCEF activity corresponding to proteins of molecular weight 30-40 and 100-140 kD.     

Circulating CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors in the harvesting peripheral blood stem cells; enhancement by recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

The number of circulating progenitor cells increases during the period of hematopoietic recovery following myeloablative therapy. These progenitor cells were used for autologous transplantation in order to reconstitute hematopoiesis. As an indicator of the circulating progenitor cells, the number of granulocyte-macrophage colony forming units (CFU-GM), which is measured by means of a long-term cell culture, has been widely used. Recently, a cell surface marker, CD34, which can easily be measured by means of flowcytometry, was found to represent immature hematopoietic progenitor cells, which are very close to stem cells. Therefore, the relationship between the number of CD34 positive cells (CD34⁺ cells) and the number of CFU-GM in the peripheral blood following chemotherapy was studied in 9 patients selected to undergo autotransplantation. The number of peripheral blood CD34+ cells was found to be significantly correlated with that of CFU-GM (r = 0.81). When four out of 9 patients received recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (rG-CSF) administration, a significant increase in the release of peripheral blood CD34⁺ cells as well as peripheral blood CFU-GM was observed (P<0.01). Thus, the measurement of CD34⁺ cells is useful for predicting the number of circulating CFU-GM.