No abstract

Sharps injuries are common among dermatologists. Underreporting is common and places providers and patients at risk of blood-borne illnesses.

Objective We recently reported that murine marrow cultured ex vivo for gamma-retrovirus transduction engrafts ~10 fold less well than fresh marrow upon transplantation into submyeloablated hosts. Here, we evaluated homing efficiency as a potential mechanism for this engraftment disparity, and whether CD26 inhibition with the tripeptide Diprotin A (DipA) would enhance engraftment of ex vivo cultured cells in submyeloablated hosts. Methods Homing and engraftment of fresh and ex vivo cultured lineage-negative (lin-) marrow cells in submyeloablated congenic hosts with and without DipA treatment was evaluated. Expression of CXCR4 and CD26 on fresh and cultured lin- marrow cells was compared. Results Homing of lin- cells cultured for gamma-retrovirus transduction was ≥3-fold less than that of fresh lin- cells 20 hours after transplantation into submyeloablated hosts. DipA treatment of fresh lin- cells resulted in ≥-fold increased homing and engraftment in submyeloablated hosts. DipA treatment, however, did not significantly improve homing or engraftment of cells undergoing a three-day culture protocol for gamma-retrovirus transduction in submyeloablated hosts. CXCR4 expression on lin- cells was significantly decreased following three days of culture; CXCR4 expression was not significantly altered following overnight culture. Conclusions Ex vivo culture of lin- cells for gamma-retroviral transduction downregulates CXCR4 expression and markedly impairs homing and engraftment of murine lin- marrow in submyeloablated hosts. While inhibition of CD26 activity with DipA increases homing and engraftment of fresh lin- cells, DipA treatment does not improve homing and engraftment of cultured lin- marrow cells in submyeloablated congenic hosts.