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Non-hematopoietic Stem Cell and Progenitor Assays

In addition to the hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and their differentiated progeny, the bone marrow contains non-hematopoietic cells, often referred to as stromal cells. Historically, stromal cells were ascribed a hematopoietic support function. Although this is true, a component of the stroma also has stem cell function (i.e. the mesenchymal stem cell compartment). Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) give rise to such structural components as bone, cartilage, tendon, ligament and fat. There is considerable interest in MSC for a number of applications, including study of bone regeneration and tissue engineering, radiation damage or radiation sparing effects, diseases of the microenvironment such as aplastic anemia, bone diseases such as osteogenesis imperfecta, etc.

MSC also appear to exert immunosuppressive effects, and are therefore of interest as candidate cellular therapies for such immune diseases as graft versus host disease (GVHD) and as recipient cells for various gene therapy payloads. MSC are detected and enumerated using a Colony Forming Cell (CFC) assay known as the CFU-F assay.

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* ReachBio Study Directors are highly knowledgeable and have many years of experience in the scientific and practical aspects of in vitro assays of non-hematopoietic stem cells and progenitors.

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Mesenchymal/Stromal Cell Assays

In addition to information derived from classical CFU-F assays (see below), other parameters of mesenchymal stem cells/stromal cells are often of interest to evaluate. ReachBio can perform assays with mesenchymal/stromal cell populations that can be used to detect the effects of test compounds on a variety of mesenchymal cell parameters including:

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Non-hematopoietic CFC Assays

The CFU-F assay is used to detect and quantify mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and was first described in 1970 by Alex Friedenstein and colleagues. This well characterized assay has been extensively used to evaluate the bone marrow microenvironment in normal donors, disease states, and following chemotherapy. It is also of relevance to the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine fields as MSC are precursors of important structural tissues such as bone, muscle and tendons. ReachBio can perform CFU-F assays with the following cell sources:

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Bone Marrow Microenvironment Analysis

The observation by Michael Dexter and colleagues in 1979 that functional hematopoietic cells could be maintained indefinitely on a stromal (microenvironmental) cell layer, greatly facilitated the examination of factors that contribute to hematopoiesis. Dexter's in vitro system contained a hierarchical mixture of cells (i.e. stem cells, progenitors and mature cells) and provided researchers with a mechanism to examine cell-cell interactions and discern the function of cells within the culture. Understanding microenvironmental interactions can facilitate the identification of factors that play significant roles in cellular processes such as mobilization and cell homing and can also be important in studies of radiation sensitivity and protection.

ReachBio can facilitate bone marrow microenvironmental analyses by using a 3D co-culture system to:

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