New recombinant antibody can isolate stem cells from umbilical cord blood

The antibody recognizes an i blood group antigen present on MSCs in umbilical cord blood, as described in a study published in BioResearch Open Access, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the BioResearch Open Access website.

Tia Hirvonen and coauthors from the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service, Glykos Finland Ltd., and Biova Ltd. (Helsinki), and VTT Technical Research Center of Finland (Espoo), identified a blood donor with high levels of antibody to the i blood group antigen. No antibodies recognizing this antigen are commercially available at present.

In the article “Production of a Recombinant Antibody Specific for i Blood Group Antigen, a Mesenchymal Stem Cell Marker,” the authors explain that the i antigen can serve as a marker to detect and isolate MSCs in umbilical cord blood (UCB). They describe the use of antibody phage display technology to produce a recombinant anti-i antibody that recognizes i antigen on the surface of UCB-MSCs as well as on red blood cells.

“The authors have used antibody phage display technology to generate an anti-i antibody,” says BioResearch Open Access Editor Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. “The advantage of this technique is that antibodies against poorly immunogenic molecules can be generated, as an immunization strategy is not required. The availability of an anti-i antibody has the potential to improve the isolation efficiency of MSCs from umbilical cord blood samples.”

About the Journal

BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD. The Journal provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience. All articles are published within 4 weeks of acceptance and are fully open access and posted on PubMedCentral. All journal content is available on the BioResearch Open Access website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers, is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in promising areas of science and biomedical research, including, DNA and Cell Biology, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, Human Gene Therapy, HGT Methods, and HGT Clinical Development, and AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers website (http://www.liebertpub.com).

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215 http://www.liebertpub.com

Phone: (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax: (914) 740-2101