Purification and expansion of stem cells from equine peripheral blood, with clinical applications

Abstract

Equine peripheral blood (ePB) can be used as a source of stem cells (SCs) in horses, both for research and for practical purposes. A relatively low volume of ePB is sufficient for the purification and expansion of the SCs. The identification of the SCs is performed by demonstrating the presence (CD34, CD90, CD105 and CD117) or absence (CD14) of specific markers on the cell surface by means of fluorescent staining, followed by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) for sorting out the desired population of SCs. The entire process of SC isolation and enrichment from ePB typically takes three days, after which the enriched SC sample can be sent back to the patient for clinical application. The two most common clinical applications of SCs from ePB will be demonstrated with two field cases. The first case presents a lesion of the body of the suspensory ligament in a 13-year-old warmblood mare and the second case describes a bacterial ulcerative keratitis in a 20-year-old warmblood gelding.