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T B Okarma

Publications and source records attributed to T B Okarma.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Animal serum-free culture of purified human CD34+ cells: amplification of progenitors from G-CSF and GM-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood.

The isolation and culture of human CD34+ cells could have broad clinical application for hematologic support following high-dose chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation. The need for reproducible, animal product-free conditions for the culture of progenitors is crucial to the widespread clinical implementation of ex vivo cell therapies. In these studies, we explored the use of animal serum-free (ASF) medium for the culture of isolated human bone marrow and peripheral blood CD34+ cells. In this ASF system, isolated CD34+ cells were cultured using a variety of different growth factor combinations. Such ASF culture conditions yielded equivalent to superior cell and progenitor growth when directly compared with culture containing 10% fetal calf serum (FCS). In cultures containing IL-1, IL-3, and stem cell factor, total cell numbers increased, on average, 33-fold over the first 2 weeks. On phenotypic analysis, the ASF cultures demonstrated sustained proliferation of CD33+ myeloid cells throughout the culture period. CD34+ cell numbers increased during the first 7-10 days of culture, with a mean 3.4-fold expansion. Concomitant with the CD34+ cell expansion was an average 8.2-fold expansion of colony-forming unit-granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) and a 102.0-fold increase in burst-forming units-erythrocytes (BFU-E). Likewise, a mean 4929-fold expansion of CD41a+ megakaryocyte progenitors was observed in these CD34+ cultures. Different combinations of growth factors affected the fold increase in cell and progenitor number. When CD34+ cell cultures from normal healthy volunteers mobilized with either G-CSF or GM-CSF were compared, similar expansions of total cell and progenitor cells resulted. However, CD41+ cells expansions were greater in those samples from G-CSF-mobilized volunteers in every case tested. These studies established the feasibility of this ASF CD34+ cell culture system to generate a population of maturing progenitors for potential use in transfusion support during cytopenic periods following high-dose chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Selection of murine lymphoid and hematopoietic cells using polystyrene tissue culture devices containing covalently immobilized antibody.

We have established rapid procedures that negatively deplete and positively select for specific murine cell populations. By using polystyrene tissue culture flasks containing a covalently bound mouse anti-rat antibody and specific anti-mouse, cell-surface antigen antibodies, we easily and efficiently depleted greater than 90% of the mature lineage cells from murine bone marrow. This selection procedure resulted in an enrichment of progenitor colonies (CFU-Cs) in murine bone marrow. Using the same polystyrene tissue culture devices, we can directly isolate CD117+ (c-kit+) murine hematopoietic cells. As few as 2000 of these CD117+ cells rescued and reconstituted lethally irradiated recipients in a murine bone marrow transplant model.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Isolation of small, primitive human hematopoietic stem cells: distribution of cell surface cytokine receptors and growth in SCID-Hu mice.

Human CD34+ cells were subfractionated into three size classes using counterflow centrifugal elutriation followed by immunoadsorption to polystyrene cell separation devices. The three CD34+ cell fractions (Fr), Fr 25/29, Fr 33/37, and Fr RO, had mean sizes of 8.5, 9.3 and 13.5 microns, respectively. The majority of cells in the large Fr RO CD34+ cell population expressed the committed stage antigens CD33, CD19, CD38, or HLA-DR and contained the majority of granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units (CFU-GM), burst-forming units-erythroid (BFU-E), and CFU-mixed lineage (GEMM). In contrast, the small Fr 25/29 CD34+ cells were devoid of committed cell surface antigens and lacked colony-forming activity. When seeded to allogeneic stroma, Fr RO CD34+ cells produced few CFU-GM at week 5, whereas cells from the Fr 25/29 CD34+ cell population showed a 30- to 55-fold expansion of myeloid progenitors at this same time point. Furthermore, CD34+ cells from each size fraction supported ontogeny of T cells in human thymus/liver grafts in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. Upon cell cycle analyses, greater than 97% of the Fr 25/29 CD34+ cells were in G0/G1 phase, whereas greater proportions of the two larger CD34+ cell fractions were in active cell cycle. Binding of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-1 alpha, IL-3, IL-6, stem cell factor (SCF), macrophage inhibitory protein (MIP)-1 alpha, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and granulocyte-macrophage (GM)-CSF to these CD34+ cell populations was also analyzed by flow cytometry. As compared with the larger CD34+ cell fractions, cells in the small Fr 25/29 CD34+ cell population possessed the highest numbers of receptors for SCF, MIP1 alpha, and IL-1 alpha. Collectively, these results indicate that the Fr 25/29 CD34+ cell is a very primitive, quiescent progenitor cell population possessing a high number of receptors for SCF and MIP1 alpha and capable of yielding both myeloid and lymphoid lineages when placed in appropriate in vitro or in vivo culture conditions.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Serum-free culture of hematopoietic stem cells: a review.

The development of serum-free systems for the maintenance and expansion of both primitive and committed hematopoietic progenitors has numerous applications in both basic and clinical research. Many different media have been tested and refined over the years, and current formulations now yield results similar to those observed with fetal bovine serum-based medias. Using these serum-free culture systems, the impact of the cell microenvironment and individual growth factors on primitive and maturing stem cells have both been studied. The utility of progenitor populations expanded ex vivo under serum-free conditions is under investigation.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Bovine conglutinin gene exon structure reveals its evolutionary relationship to surfactant protein-D.

Bovine conglutinin (BC), a member of the mammalian C-type collectin subfamily, is a serum protein synthesized in liver that is believed to play a role in natural host defense. Previously, we have characterized a full length BC cDNA and we now describe the partial characterization of a genomic clone that encodes for the BC gene (CGN1). BC is encoded by nine exons spanning > 11 kb and has been localized previously to band 18 of bovine (Bos taurus) chromosome 28. Genomic sequencing demonstrated that the signal peptide/amino-terminal domain, the carbohydrate recognition domain, and the linking peptide, a domain between the collagenous region and the carbohydrate recognition domain, are each encoded by a single exon. The collagenous domain is split into five exons, with the 5' most region being located within the exon that also encodes the signal peptide/amino terminus. The remaining four collagenous domain exons are tandemly arranged with lengths of 117, 108, 108, and 117 bp, respectively. Overall, the BC genomic organization is very similar to that of the human surfactant protein-D gene, SFTP4. On the basis of identical collagen domain structures, we suggest that conglutinin and bovine surfactant protein-D evolved from a gene duplication event occurring in Bovidae after divergence from other mammals.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Bovine conglutinin (BC) mRNA expressed in liver: cloning and characterization of the BC cDNA reveals strong homology to surfactant protein-D.

Bovine conglutinin (BC) is a C-type lectin isolated from bovine serum that appears to play a role in first-line host defense. The BC cDNA was cloned from a bovine liver library and the nucleotide (nt) sequence of 1519 bp was determined. The longest open reading frame encoded a 20-amino-acid (aa) signal sequence and a mature protein of 351 aa. Analysis of the nt and deduced aa sequences revealed 87 and 78% identity, respectively, with the sequences of another vertebrate lectin: bovine surfactant protein-D (SP-D). Of interest, the expression of the BC mRNA, as determined by RNase protection assay, is restricted to liver, unlike bovine SP-D, a lung-surfactant protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Separation of lectin-binding cells using polystyrene culture devices with covalently immobilized soybean agglutinin.

The plant lectin, soybean agglutinin (SBA), has been widely used to separate heterogeneous populations of cells. In the field of bone marrow transplantation, SBA has been used for partial depletion of T cells from bone marrow allografts to reduce graft-vs.-host disease. SBA's high affinity for many different tumor cells has also indicated its use as a tumor purging agent for autologous bone marrow transplants. We have compared two methods of cell separation using either soluble SBA agglutination, or SBA covalently attached to an activated polystyrene surface. The nonbinding SBA-cell populations generated by these two procedures were very similar in terms of cell recovery, light scatter properties, and phenotypic profile. Notably, both SBA- fractions were enriched in cells with the known progenitor markers, CD34, CD33, and HLA-DR, and were relatively depleted of SBA binding cells. In addition, the activity of each SBA- cell population was measured in vitro in short-term progenitor assays. Here, both SBA- populations were significantly enriched for CFU-GM. When device-separated SBA- cell populations were seeded into long-term bone marrow culture, they produced both increased progenitor activity and cell proliferation compared to unseparated BMMCs. The polystyrene technology described here could reduce or eliminate many of the drawbacks of soluble SBA agglutination, making SBA cell separation a viable and convenient technique for clinical application.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed1994

Efficient and sustained gene expression in primary T lymphocytes and primary and cultured tumor cells mediated by adeno-associated virus plasmid DNA complexed to cationic liposomes.

We have used cationic liposomes to facilitate adeno-associated virus (AAV) plasmid transfections of primary and cultured cell types. AAV plasmid DNA complexed with liposomes showed levels of expression several fold higher than those of complexes with standard plasmids. In addition, long-term expression (> 30 days) of the gene, unlike the transient expression demonstrated by typical liposome-mediated transfection with standard plasmids, was observed. Southern analysis of chromosomal DNA further substantiated the hypothesis that the long-term expression was due to the presence of the transgene in the AAV plasmid-transfected group and not in the standard plasmid-transfected group. AAV plasmid-liposome complexes induced levels of transgene expression comparable to those obtained by recombinant AAV transduction. Primary breast, ovarian, and lung tumor cells were transfectable with the AAV plasmid DNA-liposome complexes. Transfected primary and cultured tumor cells were able to express transgene product even after lethal irradiation. High-level gene expression was also observed in freshly isolated CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells from normal human peripheral blood. Transfection efficiency ranged from 10 to 50% as assessed by intracellular interleukin-2 levels in interleukin-2-transfected cells. The ability to express transgenes in primary tumor and lymphoid cells may be applied toward tumor vaccine studies and protocols which may eventually permit highly specific modulation of the cellular immune response in cancer and AIDS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

Red blood cell depletion and enrichment of CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells from human umbilical cord blood using soybean agglutinin and CD34 immunoselection.

Realization of the full potential of human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) as a source of transplantable hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) will be contingent on the development of a reliable method for ex vivo cell processing and stem cell enrichment. A first step in stem cell enrichment protocols involves depletion of the red blood cells (RBC) in the sample. We have compared several RBC depletion methods on the basis of recovery of total nucleated cells. It was found that 3% gelatin was effective at depleting RBC with a nucleated cell recovery of 72.4 +/- 7.3% (mean +/- standard deviation [SD]) in the HUCB samples. Several lectins were also used for processing HUCB and compared for their ability to remove RBC. Of these, soybean agglutinin (SBA) was found to remove RBC without substantial loss of HPC. Moreover, sequential treatment of HUCB with 3% gelatin and the AIS MicroCELLector SBA resulted in a product with < 1% hematocrit, 57% reduction in T cells, 35% nucleated cell recovery, and relatively high yields of burst-forming units-erythroid (BFU-E) (61%) and colony-forming units-granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) (58%) and -mixed (CFU-GEMM) (66%). In a separate series of studies, enrichment of the CD34+ subset in HUCB was accomplished by processing HUCB with Ficoll followed by sequential treatment with the AIS MicroCELLector SBA and AIS MicroCELLector CD34. The CD34+ fraction was enriched for BFU-E (14-fold), CFU-GM (nine-fold), and CFU-GEMM (five-fold) with an overall purity ¿ > or = 92% CD34+ by flow cytometry. This report demonstrates that 3% gelatin and the AIS MicroCELLector SBA can be combined as an ex vivo processing technique to reduce the volume of the HUCB product by depleting RBC and T cells while still maintaining a high recovery of HPC. Moreover, separation of highly enriched CD34+ cells from HUCB is achievable and opens up the possibility of using CD34+ cells from HUCB for ex vivo progenitor cell expansion for transplantation, transfusion, and gene therapy.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed1994

Long-term reconstitution of mice after ex vivo expansion of bone marrow cells: differential activity of cultured bone marrow and enriched stem cell populations.

In this report, we evaluated the short-term expansion of murine bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNC) and enriched stem cell populations to determine the capacity of these cells for long-term rescue and engraftment to lethally irradiated recipients. In our study, nonadherent bone marrow mononuclear cell (NBM-MNC) and Thy1+Lin- stem cells populations were cultured with interleukin-3 (IL-3) or IL-3 plus stem cell factor (SCF) for periods up to 6 days. By day 6 of culture, the mononuclear cells (MNC) decreased to 6% of input cell number, whereas Thy1+Lin- cells increased by 2310%. Doses of 95,000; 100,000; 50,000; and 250,000 NBM-MNCs at 0, 1, 2, and 6 days of culture, respectively, rescued 50% of lethally irradiated mice. When 250,000 MNCs were cultured for 0, 1, 2, and 6 days, 71, 61, 100, and 50% of the animals survived lethal irradiation for greater than 24 weeks. In contrast, doses of 8,000 and 21,000 Thy1+Lin- cells cultured 0 and 1 day, respectively, yielded 50% survival rates. These same cells cultured for 6 days failed to rescue recipients even at high doses. Twenty thousand Thy1+Lin- cells cultured for 0, 1, 2, and 6 days, even in the presence of SCF, produced decreasing survival rates of 86, 43, 26, and 0%, respectively. The proliferative responses of these different populations in combination with their long-term rescue abilities indicated that the absolute number of long-term rescue units (LD50, 24 weeks) in the cultured Thy1+Lin- population decreased faster than in similarly cultured NBM-MNCs. Studies evaluating donor cell engraftment demonstrated that animals rescued with cultured Thy1+Lin- and NBM-MNCs maintained high levels of donor reconstitution [7]. The percent donor T cell engraftment did not significantly change between 2 and 17 months post-bone marrow transplantation (post-BMT). Therefore, those animals who received sufficient cells to survive lethal irradiation generally established and maintained high levels of donor engraftment. The data suggest a role for accessory cells and/or factors in the preservation of stem cell activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Conglutinin acts as an opsonin for influenza A viruses.

Since the 1940's, non-Ig inhibitors of influenza A virus (IAV) hemagglutination activity and infectivity have been recognized in mammalian sera. Recently, the heat labile (beta) inhibitor of this type was identified by indirect methods as the lectin, conglutinin. In support of this hypothesis, we found that purified conglutinin strongly inhibited hemagglutination activity and infectivity of IAV. By using IAV strains with specific variations in glycosylation of the hemagglutinin molecule, we showed these effects to be mediated by binding of conglutinin to high mannose carbohydrate attachments on the viral hemagglutinin. Through the same mechanism conglutinin caused aggregation of IAV particles. Human neutrophils produce hydrogen peroxide upon exposure to IAV. Also, after a brief period of exposure to IAV, neutrophils exhibit depressed responsiveness (deactivation) upon exposure to other stimuli (e.g., chemotactic peptides). These phenomena may be related to the in vivo inflammatory response during IAV infection, and to the propensity of IAV-infected subjects to suffer bacterial superinfection. Pre-incubation of IAV with conglutinin markedly potentiated human neutrophil hydrogen peroxide production in response to the virus. This effect correlated with the ability of conglutinin to aggregate the virus. IAV treated with conglutinin also caused significantly less neutrophil deactivation than did the unopsonized virus. These enhancements of neutrophil respiratory burst responses by conglutinin were again mediated by binding of the lectin to viral carbohydrates. The mammalian C-type lectin family includes conglutinin, mannose-binding protein, and surfactant proteins A and D. These lectins may be important constituents of the initial host response to IAV, by inhibiting IAV infectivity directly, causing viral aggregation, and acting as opsonins to enhance phagocyte responses to the virus.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Differential expression of human nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha subunit variants in muscle and non-muscle tissues.

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is an oligomeric transmembrane glycoprotein consisting of four homologous subunits in stoichiometry of alpha 2, beta (gamma or epsilon). Recently the presence of a novel exon (P3A) in human alpha AChR gene has been reported. Two variants of the human alpha subunit arise from alternate RNA splicing, one with and one without the P3A exon. However, the evolutionary origin of the P3A exon and the regulation of the expression of the two variants in human muscle and non-human tissues is currently unknown. Examination of genomic DNA from various species shows that the P3A exon sequence is present only in hominoids, old world and new world primates species and is absent in the muscle cDNA or genomic DNA from rat, mouse or dog, indicating that P3A exon is evolutionary conserved for at least 50 million years. The P3A+ variant of alpha subunit was found to be constitutively expressed in skeletal muscle, brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung and thymus, while P3A-variant was differentially expressed only in skeletal muscle. Thus it appears that the P3A+ variant is generated by 'default' selection by the splicing machinery, while expression of the P3A- variant is regulated by tissue-specific factors in the skeletal muscle. Mechanisms regulating differential expression of the alpha subunit variants may be pertinent to the pathophysiology of myasthenia gravis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

An immune complex selective affinity column utilizing site-specific attachment of bovine conglutinin.

A simple method to isolate immune complexes by column chromatography is described. The immune complex affinity column was constructed by the site-specific attachment of bovine conglutinin to agarose. Covalent attachment of conglutinin to agarose was achieved via hydrazone chemistry, which reacts aldehydes of oxidized oligosaccharides in the collagenous domain of conglutinin with hydrazide functional groups in the solid support. The constructed conglutinin affinity column captured complement-fixed model immune complexes of heat-aggregated human IgG and more classical complexes of chicken ovalbumin-anti-chicken ovalbumin. Neither the nonfixed immune complexes nor their individual components were retained by the column. The captured material was specifically eluted with EDTA without the use of low pH. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blot analysis, and protein sequence analysis of the eluates revealed the presence of the expected individual components, verifying that both antibody and antigen used to prepare the soluble immune complexes were recovered from the conglutinin column. The advantages of this approach over traditional methods of immune complex isolation and characterization are discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Separation of hematopoietic progenitor cells from human umbilical cord blood.

Human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) is a rich source of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC). Nevertheless, it has been previously reported that attempts to enrich for HPC resulted in substantial loss of progenitor cells. We have developed a cell processing technique for HUCB using 3% gelatin sedimentation and the AIS MicroCELLectorSBA and CD34. By this technique, we were able to deplete red blood cells (RBC) and obtain a partial T cell depletion, while maintaining 70-90% of the HPC. The results indicate that it may be possible to manipulate cord blood without significant loss of HPC, thus enhancing its utility for transplantation.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1993

Direct isolation and expansion of human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells.

The isolation and expansion of CD34+ cells has numerous applications as supportive therapy for cytopenias that occur postchemotherapy. In this report, we describe a simple system to directly isolate and culture human CD34+ cells. Using this system, CD34+ cells isolated from bone marrow were cultured in the presence of GM-CSF, G-CSF, erythropoietin, stem cell factor, IL-1, IL-3, and IL-6. Cell expansions up to 100-fold were noted during the first 2 weeks of culture with high maintenance of CD34+ cells during the first week of culture. Maximal expansions of progenitors were observed at one week of culture, with, on average, 20-fold increases in CFU-GM number. The results support the feasibility of CD34+ cell expansion for clinical application.

Antigens, CD↗