In Vitro Differentiation Capacity of Esophageal Progenitor Cells with Capacity for Homing and Repopulation of the Ionizing Irradiation-damaged Esophagus

Abstract

Background: Ionizing irradiation of the esophagus results in development of esophagitis. In a mouse model, esophageal progenitor cells, isolated by either the side population (SP) sorting technique or a serial preplate technique, have been demonstrated to repopulate the irradiated esophagus of recipient mice. Materials and Methods: Esophageal progenitor cells (SP or preplate) as well as bone marrow cells were characterized phenotypically and by their ability to form colonies in methylcellulose in vitro. Results: Esophageal SP cells were able to differentiate to endothelin or vimentin positive colonies in vitro while preplate cells formed colonies that were uni-lineage, bi-lineage, or tri-lineage for macrophage, endothelin, or vimentin positive colonies. In methylcellulose culture, there was no difference in the types of colonies formed by the two techniques. As a control, hematopoietic progenitor cells formed multi-lineage hematopoietic colonies. Conclusion: The data establish the existence of a subpopulation of esophageal progenitor cells with in vitro differentiation capacity to multiple adherent cellular lineages.