Aldehyde dehydrogenase-bright cells correlated with the colony-forming unit-granulocyte-macrophage assay of thawed cord blood units

Abstract

The number of aldehyde dehydrogenase-bright (ALDH(br) ) cells has been suggested as a viable marker of hematopoietic stem cell function. We evaluated the suitability of ALDH(br) cell analysis in the quality assessment of postthaw cord blood (CB) units. A total of 245 CB units were obtained for estimating the numbers of total nucleated cells (TNCs), CD34+ cells, ALDH(br) cells, ALDH(br) cells among CD34+ cells (CD34+ALDH(br) cells), CD34+ cells among ALDH(br) cells (ALDH(br) CD34+ cells), colony-forming unit (CFU)-granulocyte-macrophages (GMs), and CFU-granulocyte-erythrocyte-macrophage-megakaryocytes (GEMMs). Simple linear regression analysis was performed to assess the correlation between the number of TNCs and CD34+ cells before and after crypreservation and CD34+ALDH(br) cells, ALDH(br) cells, and ALDH(br) CD34+ cells after cryopreservation and the number of CFU-GEMMS and CFU-GMs. The number of CFU-GMs was found to be significantly correlated with the number of CD34+ cells before and after cryopreservation (r = 0.418 and r = 0.359, respectively), CD34+ALDH(br) cells, ALDH(br) cells, and ALDH(br) CD34+ cells (r = 0.426, r = 0.455, and r = 0.469, respectively). The number of CFU-GEMMs was found to be significantly correlated with the number of TNCs and CD34+ cells before and after cryopreservation (TNCs, r = 0.251 and r = 0.250, respectively; CD34+ cells, r = 0.391 and r = 0.347, respectively), CD34+ALDH(br) cells, ALDH(br) cells, and ALDH(br) CD34+ cells (r = 0.297, r = 0.297, and r = 0.252, respectively). The high correlation found between ALDH activity and CFU-GM number supports the suitability of ALDH analysis in the quality assessment of postthaw CB units.