Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are well-characterized, tissue-specific stem cells that are responsible for the lifelong maintenance of the hematopoietic system. HSCs or hematopoietic progenitors known as colony-forming cells (CFCs) proliferate to form discrete colonies when cultured in a suitable 3D environment, such as methylcellulose supplemented with nutrients and cytokines.

Our CytoSelect™ 96-Well Hematopoietic Colony Forming Cell Assay promotes the formation of HSC colonies in just 7-10 days. Cells can then be either quantified in a fluorescence plate reader or recovered from the semisolid medium for further downstream analysis.

Figure 1: CytoSelect™ 96-Well Hemtopoietic Colony Forming Cell Assay Principle.

Figure 2: Colony Formation Using the CytoSelect™ 96-Well Hematpoietic Colony Forming Cell Assay. Human bone marrow derived CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells were seeded at 3000 cells/well and cultured for 7 days in the presence or absence of growth factors/cytokines (hIL-3, hIL-6, hGM-CSF, hEPO). Colony quantitation was performed according to the assay protocol. After 7 day culture photographs were taken for Panel A (without growth factor/cytokine supplement) and Panel B (with growth factor/cytokine supplement). Panel C demonstrates growth after 10 days with growth factors/cytokines (hemoglobin is clearly visible).