Accession Number:

ADA513055

Title:

Lymphatic Reprogramming of Adult Endothelial Stem Cells for a Cell-Based Therapy for Lymphedema in Breast Cancer Patients

Descriptive Note:

Annual rept. 1 Sep 2007-31 Aug 2008

Corporate Author:

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES

Personal Author(s):

Report Date:

2008-09-01

Pagination or Media Count:

7.0

Abstract:

This research is designed to develop an efficient method to isolate and culture endothelial cell progenitorstem cells from human adult blood and further to differentiate them into lymphatic lineage to be eventually used for cell-based therapy for post-operational lymphedema patients. The key significance of our proposal is to utilize the elusive circulating adult stem cells to avoid the ethical and immunological problems that the embryonic stem cell research faces. During the funding period, we made important progresses in isolation and culture of adult endothelial progenitor cells. In particular, we found that mononuclear cells from bloods displayed increased mitogenic potential in the endothelial cell basal medium that contains vascular endothelial cell growth factor VEGF-A and VEGF-C. Moreover, we found that addition of interleukin-3 activated the cells to upregulate Prox1, the master control gene for lymphatic development. However, we also found that adult endothelial progenitor cells failed to grow more than three passages under the current condition. We are currently investigating the optimal condition for the long term culture of these cells.

Subject Categories:

  • Medicine and Medical Research

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE