Umbilical Cord Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Expansion Ex Vivo

Abstract

Umbilical cord blood is an attractive source of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in the treatment of hematologic diseases, especially in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. However, due to the low abundance of these cells, the therapeutic use of umbilical cord blood has been limited mostly to the pediatric setting. The strategies for adult umbilical cord blood transplantation have been improved, with the recent development of various approaches for expanding stem cells in vitro and enhancing their long-term homing efficiency. In this brief review, we discuss a number of strategies for stimulating the proliferation of umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cells in vitro, including the utility of transcription factors and growth factors (cytokine cocktails), as well as co-culturing with stromal cells. Ultimately, we make the case that improvements in umbilical cord blood stem cell expansion will be critical for enhancing transplantation engraftment efficacy and providing potential cure for hematological diseases.