Expression data from primary CB erythroblasts, immortalized/induced erythroblasts, Fetal liver CD34+ blood stem cells, adult CD34+ blood stem cells, erythroleukemia cell line (TF-1) and human ESC and iPSCs

The supply of red blood cells (RBCs) is not sufficient in many developing countries or in developed countries for patients who need chronic transfusion from best-matched donors. Ex vivo expansion and maturation of human erythroid precursor cells (erythroblasts) could represent a potential solution. Proliferating erythroblasts can be expanded from human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (CB MNCs) ex vivo for 10^6-10^7 fold (in ~50 days) before undergoing senescence. Here, we report that ectopic expression of three to four genetic factors that have been used for iPS cell derivation enables CB-derived erythroblasts to undergo extended ex vivo expansion (10^51 fold in ~9 months) in a defined suspension culture condition without change of cell identity or function. These vastly expanding erythroblasts maintain homogeneously immature erythroblast phenotypes, a normal diploid karyotype and dependence on specific combination of cytokines and hormone for survival and proliferation throughout the continuous expansion period. When switched to a culture condition for terminal maturation, these immortalized erythroblasts gradually exit cell cycle, decrease cell size, accumulate hemoglobin, condense nuclei and eventually give rise to enucleated hemoglobin-containing erythrocytes. Our result may ultimately lead to the development of unlimited sources of cultured RBCs for optimally-matched or personalized transfusion medicine.

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Huang X, Shah S, Wang J, Ye Z, Dowey SN, Tsang KM, Mendelsohn LG, Kato GJ, Kickler TS, Cheng L