FIG. 3.

fl-hKITL is superior to both tr-hKITL and mKITL in sustaining ex vivo amplification of EBs from CB MNCs in cultures containing DXM (HEMA conditions). (A) Growth curves of EBs in cultures stimulated with DXM, estradiol, IL-3, and EPO but without KITL (blue) or with fl-hKITL (black), tr-hKITL (purple), or mKITL (green), as indicated. Data are expressed as FI with respect to the number of cells seeded at day 0. Results are shown as mean (±SD) of 3 separate experiments. (B) FACS profile for CD36 and CD235a expression (on the left) and morphology (by May-Grunwald staining, on the right) of cells obtained after 13 days in culture. Magnification 40×. (C) Frequency of non-EBs (CD36^negCD235a^neg/low cells), total EBs (CD36^pos cells), and immature (CD36^posCD235a^neg/low) and mature (CD36^posCD235a^pos) EBs in the flow cytometry analysis is presented in (B). Results from a representative experiment are shown (see also Fig. 4). HEMA, human erythroid massive amplification; EPO, erythropoietin.