[Mesenchymal cells and fibrocytes in peripheral blood. Culture conditions]

Abstract

Objectives: The fibrocytes, the mesenchymal cells and the colony forming units are included in the concept fibroblast-like, peripheral-blood circulating stem cells. The aim of this work was to establish the culture conditions.

Material and method: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 25 samples collected from the cephalic vein. These were cultured in McCoy's 5A enriched with 20% of foetal bovine serum. The culture was read at 7, 14 and 21 days, evaluating the proliferation, confluence and the round cell/spindle cell ratio. Moreover the 21st day surface markers and phagocytic activity testing was carried out.

Results: Growth was achieved in all the cases but only in two dishes were confluence areas retrieved. Spindle cells were 36 ± 3.71% (mean ± SD). All the cells showed intense signal against vimentin, CD34 marker and the NBT test were positives.

Conclusions: Clear CD34 expression, positivity against a connective tissue marker such as vimentin and positivity in a phagocytic assay like the NBT-test, support that stem cells, monocytes and fibroblasts share common characteristics.