| 摘要 |
High purity populations of mast cells and basophils are obtained by culturing progenitor cells in the presence of a soluble basement membrane, e.g., Matrigel3, ECM Gel of Sigma BioSciences, or other such substances that mimic the extracellular matrix. Such populations of mast cells are obtained via culturing precursor cells, e.g., CD-34 bearing pleuripotent hematopoeitic precursor cells, in a medium supplemented with stem cell factor (SCF) and recombinant human interleukin-6 (rhIL-6) and, more preferably, also with recombinant human interleukin-10 (rhIL-10), in the presence of the soluble basement membrane. Such populations of basophils are obtained by culturing progenitor cells, e.g. cord blood mononuclear cells, in a medium supplemented with recombinant human interleukin-3 (rhIL-3) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), in the presence of a soluble basement membrane. Methods of identifying the effect of a factor (e.g., a pharmaceutical or growth factor) on development of human mast cells and basophils involve culturing populations, as described above, with and without the factor. Characteristics of the resulting populations are then compared to determine the effect, if any. |
