Application of porous glycosaminoglycan‐based scaffolds for expansion of human cord blood stem cells in perfusion culture

Abstract In vitro expansion of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) has been employed to obtain sufficient numbers of stem cells for successful engraftment after HSC transplantation. A three‐dimensional perfusion bioreactor system with a heparin‐chitosan scaffold was designed and evaluated for its capability to support maintenance and expansion of HSCs. Porous chitosan scaffolds were fabricated by a freeze‐drying technique and N‐desulfated heparin was covalently immobilized within the scaffolds using carbodiimide chemistry. CD34+ HSCs isolated from umbilical cord blood by immunomagnetic separation were cultured within the porous scaffold in a perfusion bioreactor system. Control cultures were maintained on dishes coated with similar heparin‐chitosan films. Oxygen uptake was measured during the culture period. After 7 days of culture, scaffolds were harvested for analysis. Cellular phenotype and HSC characteristics were evaluated via flow cytometry and colony forming unit assays. The results indicate good cell retention and proliferation within the perfused scaffolds. Oxygen consumption in the perfusion bioreactor system increased continuously during the culture, indicating steady cell growth. Cells from the perfused scaffold cultures showed higher percentages of primitive progenitors and exhibited superior colony forming unit performance as compared to cells from static cultures. In addition, perfusion culture at low oxygen (5%) enhanced the expansion of CD34+ cells and colony‐forming activity compared to high oxygen (19%) cultures. The results suggest that perfusion culture of cord blood CD34+ cells under bone marrow‐like conditions enhances HSC expansion compared to static cultures. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2008