Dresden 2009 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 17: Poster II

BP 17.31: Poster

Wednesday, March 25, 2009, 17:15–19:45, P3

Quantification of hematopoietic stem cell chemotaxis by microstructured channel systems and ELISA — •Christina Leinweber¹, Rainer Saffrich², Wolfgang Wagner², Axel Rosenhahn¹, Anthony D. Ho², and Michael Grunze¹ — ¹Angewandte Physikalische Chemie, Universität Heidelberg, Germany — ²Abteilung Innere Medizin V, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Germany

The chemical communication between mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), playing an important role in modern leukemia therapy, is not yet understood in detail. It is supposed that HSC migrate towards bone marrow, the so called homing process, guided by a concentration gradient of chemokines which are expressed by marrow cells. We investigate these chemotactic motions of HSC and malignant hematopoietic cell lines using microstructured chip systems. By varying the channel geometries defined concentration gradients are generated that allow to study single parameters, e.g. migration kinetics, thresholds, sensing sensitivity and swarm behaviour. The first migration experiments in microwells and microstructured systems are presented. Stem cell migration is most likely controlled via SDF-1 as chemokine involved in the signalling process. In order to quantify the role of SDF-1 in greater detail we additionally performed ELISA experiments to study the expression of SDF-1 by MSCs. The correlation of migration kinetics and bioanalytical data is an important part of understanding stem cell homing and will be also the basis for mathematical simulations later on.