Maturation and differentiation changes in cultured peripheral blood and umbilical cord-derived hematopoietic stem cells using flow cytometry

Introduction Ex vivo hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) growth initiatives aim to produce a cell population suitable for bone marrow transplantation. HSCs could be collected from bone marrow, peripheral blood, and umbilical cord blood. Flow cytometry is an effective technique for locating, evaluating, and isolating stem and progenitor cells for research and clinical uses. It provides rapid, multi-parametric analysis of individual cells within a population of heterogeneous cells. This research uses flow cytometry to evaluate maturation and differentiation changes in cultured peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood-derived HSCs. Patients and methods Umbilical cord and peripheral blood samples were collected. CD34-positive cells were sorted using magnetic bead technology. Culturing these cells in media was done. Assessment of cell maturation and differentiation was done using different monoclonal antibodies by flow cytometry before and after culture. Results The study found that the percentages of mature and immature HSCs in PB samples significantly differed from those of umbilical cord blood cells. Peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood postculture samples showed a positive increase in immature hematopoietic cells, with umbilical cord blood samples having superior potential for expansion. The distribution of granulocytic, monocytic, and lymphocytic populations varied significantly in pre and postculture samples. Conclusions The study concluded that the hematopoietic cell population in UCB is less developed and immature than in PB samples.