Umbilical Cord Blood (CB) is a rich source of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) with high proliferative capacity and a naïve immune status. These characteristics, among others, make CB a good source of HSPCs not only for transplantation, but also for biomedical research purposes. Here we describe the methods for human CB-HSPCs isolation, as well as their culture and cryopreservation, viral transduction and sorting, and in vivo and in vitro assays in order to study leukemic processes.
Keywords: Clonogenic potential; Engraftment; Hematopoietic progenitor cells; Proliferation assay; Sorting; Transduction; Xenotransplantation.