Immunophenotypic profile of nucleated erythroid progenitors during maturation in regenerating bone marrow

Abstract

This study introduces an in-depth flow cytometric method for the analysis of nucleated erythroid progenitors during bone marrow regeneration. Initial immunophenotypic analysis with the conventional erythroid-associated markers CD36, CD71 and CD235a was supplemented with the analysis of additional markers, including CD105, CD117, CD45, CD38 and cell-scattered light characteristics. Our data show that the expression of CD105 and CD117 is critical for the distinction between four phenotypically different developmental stages of nucleated erythroid progenitors: pro-erythroblasts, basophilic erythroblasts, polychromatophilic erythroblasts and orthochromatophilic erythroblasts. CD105 antigen expression was specifically associated with pro-erythroblasts and basophilic erythroblasts, whereas CD117 was expressed at the earliest pro-erythroblast stage. Both antigens were progressively lost throughout the course of differentiation. These data allow for the identification of aberrant erythroid development in acute erythroid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome.

Keywords::

• Nucleated erythroid progenitors
• pro-erythroblasts
• basophilic erythroblasts
• polychromatophilic erythroblasts
• orthochromatophilic erythroblasts
• immunophenotyping
• erythroid development

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the physicians from the Department of Pediatric Oncology of University Children's Hospital and the National Cancer Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia, for submitting patient bone marrow samples and referrals.

Potential conflict of interest:

Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article at www.informahealthcare.com/lal.

This work was supported by grants from the Slovak Grant Agency VEGA (No. 2/0041/10, No. 2/0134/13), and grant NFM/EEA SK0095.