Assessment of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell biological characteristics and support hemotopoiesis function in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are of great therapeutic potential because of their ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple tissues. Compare to allogenetic MSCs, autologous MSCs from patients needed cell-based therapy may be an ideal alternative stem cell source. However, characteristics of MSCs from a disease state are poorly understood. So, we have isolated and characterized MSCs from choronic mycloid leukemia (CML) patients and compared them with MSCs derived from normal adult bone marrow. Our results showed that CML derived MSCs are similar to normal MSCs in phenotype, morphology and multi-differentiation capacity. Moreover, CML derived MSCs did not express BCR/ABL gene and Ph chromosome, and had not the ability to development tumor in nude mice. At last, they could express hematopoietic cytokines, and possessed hematopoietic supportive ability. These findings indicate that MSCs derived from CML patients' bone marrow may be an attractive tool for clinical needs. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.