In an in vitro study, researchers isolated and cultured endothelial progenitor cell-like populations from discarded leukoreduction filters, demonstrating that approximately 70 percent of the cells at passage 3 to 4 were positive for the surface-associated progenitor marker CD133. The cultured cells were characterized using flow cytometry following their extraction from filters routinely utilized during blood processing.
Leukoreduction filters are standardly employed in blood transfusion services to filter blood products and inadvertently retain substantial numbers of nucleated cells. Because these processing filters are typically discarded after use, investigators explored them as an accessible source of peripheral blood-derived cells for in vitro studies involving endothelial progenitor cell-like populations.
The filters used in the investigation were obtained from the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization. The entrapped cells were recovered through a washing-based method without the application of magnetic-activated cell sorting or endothelial differentiation media. To facilitate and improve early cell adhesion during in vitro culture, the research team applied a coating solutio...