Expression of neurotrophins and their receptors in human CD34+ bone marrow cells

Bone marrow (bm) cd34+ cells have the ability to secrete growth factors,cytokines,and chemotactic factors. we sought to better characterize this population and to investigate whether human bm cd34+cells express neurotrophins (nts) and their relevant receptors. we also compared their expression levels with bm nucleated cells (ncs). bm cd34+ cells were evaluated with respect to the expression levels of neurotrophins using qrt-pcr,immunofluorescent staining,and western blotting. next,the expression of specific (trka,trkb,trkc) and non-specific (p75ntr) neurotrophin receptors was detected by qrt-pcr and immunofluorescent staining in bm cd34+ cells. using qrt-pcr,we show that even in the absence of inducing factors,cd34+ cells spontaneously express neurotrophins such as ngf,bdnf,nt-3,and nt-4. in addition,the nt expression levels in bm cd34+ cells are considerably higher than in ncs. furthermore,we confirmed intracellular nt expression in bm cd34+ cells at the protein level using immunofluorescent staining and western blotting. using qrt-pcr,we found that immunomagnetically separated bm cd34+ cells spontaneously express high-affinity neurotrophin receptors (trka,trkb,and trkc) and the low-affinity receptor p75ntr at higher levels than ncs. immunomagnetic cd34+ cell separation enables for the rapid and gentle sorting of stem/progenitor cells (spcs) to prepare specific cell types for use in research and clinical applications. our study suggests that bm cd34+ cells have the potential to support trophic factors for neural tissue and could contribute towards the protection and regeneration of neural cells. © 2016,polish physiological society. all right reserved.