| abstract |
A method for the preparation of therapeutic cells or cultures comprising: a) isolation of blood-free human cord cells in the presence of (i) neutral protease activity or (ii) two or more enzyme activities selected from metalloprotease, neutral protease and mucolytic enzymatic activities, said cells being capable of self-renewal and expansion in culture, having the potential to differentiate into cells of other phenotypes, and where the cells: each produce CD10, CD13, CD44, CD73 , CD90, PDGFr-alpha, and HLA-A, B, C, as detected by flow cytometry, and do not each produce CD31, CD34, CD45, CD117, CD141, or HLA DR, DP, DQ, as detects by flow cytometry; b) initial expansion of the cells to a useful number in a medium containing serum that supports the expansion of cells but in which the cells produce an amount of the HLA-ABC cell surface marker; c) transfer of the cells to a medium in which the cells produce a decrease in the amount of the HLA-ABC cell surface marker, in which the medium in which the cells produce a decreased amount of the HLA-cell surface marker ABC is a serum free medium; and d) passing the cells into the medium in which the cells produce a decreased amount of HLA-ABC e) thereby preparing a therapeutic cell or culture. |