Collection efficiencies of MNC subpopulations during autologous CD34+ peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) harvests in small children and adolescents

There is increasing demand for mononuclear cell (MNC) harvests not only for PBPC but also for immune therapies using dendritic cells and donor lymphocytes. We determined the collection efficiencies (CE) of various MNC subpopulations during CD34(+) cell harvests using a Fenwal CS 3000 Plus Omnix system in small children and adolescents. The cell content of 140 leukapheresis products (LP) was prospectively evaluated in 45 pretreated patients with solid tumors and hematological malignancies. The median age was 12 years (range 0.8-22), and the median body weight (BW) 43 kg (range 9-92). Depending upon the BW of the patients, the media used for priming were saline (SP) in 86, human albumin (HA, HA-P) in 10, and packed red blood cells (BP) in 44 apheresis procedures. The major nucleated cell (NC) fractions collected were monocytes (52% of NC) and CD3(+) T cells (26%). The median cell yield for monocytes was 174 x 10(6)/kg (range 24-613) representing a CE of 55%. The median number of CD3(+) T cells was 84 x 10(6)/kg (range 5.6-380; CE = 74%). CD34(+) cells represented a very small cell fraction of the LP (1.3% of NC), with a median yield of 4.2 x 10(6)/kg (range 0.2-87) and a CE of 63%. The cell yield of various MNCs was significantly correlated with the cell count in the peripheral blood (PB) and with the blood volume processed (ANOVA, P < 0.0001). No influence on the CE was observed for the priming procedure, the patients' age or sex, or the other adaptations used in the harvesting protocol. In conclusion. the Fenwal CS 3000 Plus OMNIX system with the CD34(+) cell program and the described adaptations, is also predictably useful for harvest of monocytes or lymphocytes in pediatric patients, We present regression equations that predict the cell yield of various MNC subpopulations in apheresis products. J. Clin. Apheresis 16:161-168, 2001. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.