Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms underlying the reconstitution of the hematopoietic system after blood stem cell transplantation is of crucial importance for improving therapeutic modalities. In order to address these issues, we have recently established a novel co-culture system consisting of immuno-isolated human CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) growing on primary human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as feeder layer in the presence of relevant cytokines. Here we have investigated i) the morphological modification of HSPCs induced by their interaction with MSCs; ii) the sub-cellular localization of the stem cell markers CD34 and CD133 (prominin-1) as well as other cell surface molecules potentially involved in such intercellular interaction, and iii) the intracellular pathway(s) responsible for the migration as well as the interaction of HSPCs with MSCs. The scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that the adherent HSPCs display various morphologies; they are either round with, in some cases, the appearance of a microvillar pole or exhibit several distinct types of plasma membrane protrusions such as lamellipodium, filopodium and magnupodium. We could also observe very long and thin plasma membrane processes between adjacent HSPCs suggesting the formation of nanotubes, which have been implicated in intercellular communication. As previously reported (
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