Isolated myeloid-like bone marrow cell populations and methods of treatment therewith

Abstract

The present invention provides an isolated myeloid-like bone marrow cell population comprising a majority of cells that are lineage negative, and which express both CD44 antigen and CD11b antigen. These cells have beneficial vasculotrophic and neurotrophic activity when intraocularly administered to the eye of a mammal, particularly a mammal suffering from an ocular degenerative disease. The myeloid-like bone marrow cells are isolated by treating bone marrow cells with an antibody against CD44 (hyaluronic acid receptor), against CD11b, or against both and using flow cytometry to positively select CD44 and/or CD11b expressing cells therefrom. The isolated myeloid-like bone marrow cells of the invention can be transfected with a gene encoding a therapeutically useful protein, for delivering the gene to the retina.

1 . A method for isolating a myeloid-like bone marrow cell population from bone marrow by negative cell marker selection, the method comprising contacting a plurality of bone marrow cells with antibodies specific for Ter119, CD45RB220, and CD3e; removing cells from the plurality of bone marrow cells that immunoreact with Ter119, CD45RB220, and CD3e antibodies from the plurality of bone marrow cells; and recovering myeloid-like bone marrow cells that are deleted in Ter119, CD45RB220, and CD3e-expressing cells; wherein a majority of the recovered cells express CD44. 
     
     
         2 . A myeloid-like bone marrow cell population prepared by the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         3 . The myeloid-like bone marrow cell population of  claim 2  wherein greater than 90 percent of the cells in the population express CD44.