Comparative analyses of megakaryocytes derived from cord blood and bone marrow

Thrombocytopenia is typically observed in patients undergoing cord blood transplantation. We hypothesized that delayed recovery of the platelet count might be caused by defects in the megakaryocytic differentiation pathway of cord blood progenitors. To test this hypothesis, we compared the features of in vitro megakaryocytopoiesis between cord blood progenitors and those in bone marrow cells after isolation of CD34(+) cells as progenitors. The proliferative responses of the progenitors in cord blood are higher than those in bone marrow cells in the presence of interleukin (IL)-3, stem cell factor (SCF) and thrombopoietin (TPO). However, the ability to generate mature megakaryocytes was higher in bone marrow progenitors than in cord blood in the same in vitro culture system, when examined by the expression of CD41, polyploidy and proplatelet formation. Furthermore, an earlier induction of c-mpl protein, a receptor for TPO, was observed in the progenitors from bone marrow than in those from cord blood in the presence of SCF and IL-3. Therefore, the ability to generate mature megakaryocytes in bone marrow progenitors is superior to that in cord blood, and the delayed engraftment of platelets after cord blood transplantation might be attributed to the features of cord blood megakaryocyte progenitors.