Ex vivo expansion of CD3depleted cord blood-MNCs in the presence of bone marrow stromal cells; an appropriate strategy to provide functional NK cells applicable for cellular therapy

•NK cell is a candidate source for cell therapy.•CD3depleted umbilical cord blood (UCB)-MNCs were expanded into NK cells.•Optimum NK cell expansion and differentiation in presence of BMSCs and low dose IL-2•The expanded NK cells showed a strong cytotoxicity.•We introduced a cost-effective approach to provide functional NK cells.

Considering umbilical cord blood (UCB) as a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells, we introduced a cost-effective approach to expand CD3depleted UCB-MNCs into functional NK cells. CD3depleted UCB-MNCs were expanded in the presence or absence of a feeder [bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) or osteoblasts], with or without cytokines and their differentiation into NK cells was determined by flow cytometry. NK cell function was quantified by LAMP-1/CD107a expression, TNF-α/IFN-γ release, and LDH release/PI staining in targets. Higher expansion of NK cells was observed after two weeks in the presence of BMSCs and cytokines (104 ± 15) compared to osteoblasts and cytokines (84 ± 29, p < 0.05). On day 14, CD3depleted UCB-MNCs in the presence of BMSCs and cytokines showed lower expression of CD3, CD19, CD14, CD15 and CD69 as well as higher expression of CD2 and CD7, which were suggestive of cell differentiation into mature NK cell lineage. Strong cytotoxicity of expanded cells was also identified with higher LDH release and PI% in targets. Significant upregulation of LAMP-1 with decreased release of IFN-γ and TNF-α from effectors were observed. We demonstrate an effective expansion of UCB-NK cells that maintained their functional capabilities applicable for cellular therapies.