Effects of glucose on the proliferation of human umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cells

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) can be isolated through umbilical cord blood (UCB), which can be used for HSC transplantation. Despite many advantages, the low number of UCB CD34(+) cells lead to delayed engraftment. Ex-vivo CD34(+)HSC expansion is a potentially safe approach to increasing CD34(+) cell numbers. The NLR family of pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) is an intracellular protein that plays an essential role in the innate immune response. Several blood cell types, HSCs and progenitor cells (HSPCs) express the NLRP3 inflammasome complex genes and participate in the development and proliferation of HSPCs. In this study, magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) beads isolated CD34(+)HSCs. The cell purity was evaluated by flow cytometry. CD34(+) cells, under the influence of different doses of glucose, MCC950 were cultured for seven days. The qRT-PCR was used to evaluate gene expression. The results showed that in the culture medium treated with glucose concentrations, the expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex genes and the amount of CD34(+) cells increased by more than 50%. In contrast, genes expression and the number of CD34(+) cells in the culture medium treated with MCC950 decreased. UCB is a source of new therapeutic methods. This study demonstrates the relationship between glucose and the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Based on these results, glucose causes the expansion of CD34(+)HSCs through its effect on HSCs in simultaneous culture.