Dg. Phinney et al., Plastic adherent stromal cells from the bone marrow of commonly used strains of inbred mice: Variations in yield, growth, and differentiation, J CELL BIOC, 72(4), 1999, pp. 570-585
Bone marrow stroma contains a unique cell population, referred to as marrow
stromal cells (MSCs), capable of differentiating along multiple mesenchyma
l cell lineages. A standard liquid culture system has been developed to iso
late MSCs from whole marrow by their adherence to plastic wherein the cells
grow as clonal populations derived from a single precursor termed the colo
ny-forming-unit fibroblast (CFU-F). Using this liquid culture system, we de
monstrate that the relative abundance of MSCs in the bone marrow of five co
mmonly used inbred strains of mice Varies as much as 10-fold, and that the
cells also exhibit markedly disparate levels of alkaline phosphatase expres
sion, an early marker of osteoblast differentiation. For each strain examin
ed, the method of isolating MSCs by plastic adherence yields a heterogeneou
s cell population. These plastic adherent cells also exhibit widely Varying
growth kinetics between the different strains. Importantly, of three inbre
d strains commonly used to prepare transgenic mice that we examined, only c
ells derived from FVB/N marrow readily expand in culture. Further analysis
of cultures derived from FVB/N marrow showed that most plastic adherent cel
ls express CD11b and CD45, epitopes of lymphohematopoietic cells. The later
consists of both pre-B-cell progenitors, granulocytic and monocytic precur
sors, and macrophages. However, a subpopulation of the MSCs appear to repre
sent bona fide mesenchymal progenitors, as cells can be induced to differen
tiate into osteoblasts and adipocytes after exposure to dexamethasone and i
nto myobtasts after exposure to amphotericin B. Our results point to signif
icant strain differences in the properties of MSCs and indicate that standa
rd methods cannot be applied to murine bone marrow to isolate relatively pu
re populations of MSCs. J. Cell. Biochem. 72:570-585, 1999. (C) 1999 Wiley-
Liss, Inc.