Mesenchymal Stromal Cells of Different Donor Age

In this series we have analyzed the effect of donor age on the gene expression profile of mesenchymal stromal cells (alternatively named mesenchymal stem cells; MSC) from human bone marrow. Cells were taken from bone marrow aspirates from iliac crest (BM) of healthy donors or from the caput femoris (HIP) of elderly patients that received femoral head prosthesis. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) were isolated from human bone marrow as described before (Wagner et al., 2005, Exp Hematol, 33, 1402-1416; Wagner et al., 2006, Exp Hematol, 34, 536-548). Cells were always replated when grown to confluency. A sample for RNA isolation was taken at every passage until the cells finally became senescent. For this series (donor age) we have only used the samples of passage 2 to minimize effects by replicative senescence.