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Background: Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) are being used to treat a variety of conditions. For many applications a supply of cryopreserved products that can be used for acute therapy is needed. The establishment of a bank of BMSC products from healthy third party donors is described., Methods: The recruitment of healthy subjects willing to donate marrow for BMSC production and the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) used for assessing potential donors, collecting marrow, culturing BMSCs and BMSC cryopreservation are described., Results: Seventeen subjects were enrolled in our marrow collection protocol for BMSC production. Six of the 17 subjects were found to be ineligible during the donor screening process and one became ill and their donation was cancelled. Approximately 12 ml of marrow was aspirated from one posterior iliac crest of 10 donors; one donor donated twice. The BMSCs were initially cultured in T-75 flasks and then expanded for three passages in multilayer cell factories. The final BMSC product was packaged into units of 100 × 106 viable cells, cryopreserved and stored in a vapor phase liquid nitrogen tank under continuous monitoring. BMSC products meeting all lot release criteria were obtained from 8 of the 11 marrow collections. The rate of growth of the primary cultures was similar for all products except those generated from the two oldest donors. One lot did not meet the criteria for final release; its CD34 antigen expression was greater than the cut off set at 5%. The mean number of BMSC units obtained from each donor was 17 and ranged from 3 to 40., Conclusions: The production of large numbers of BMSCs from bone marrow aspirates of healthy donors is feasible, but is limited by the high number of donors that did not meet eligibility criteria and products that did not meet lot release criteria.

Introduction: Calcified deposits (CDs) in skin and muscles are common in juvenile dermatomyositis (DM), and less frequent in adult DM. Limited information exists about the microstructure and composition of these deposits, and no information is available on their elemental composition and contents, mineral density (MD) and stiffness. We determined the microstructure, chemical composition, MD and stiffness of CDs obtained from DM patients., Methods: Surgically-removed calcinosis specimens were analyzed with fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy in reflectance mode (FTIR-RM) to map their spatial distribution and composition, and with scanning electron microscopy/silicon drift detector energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM/SDD-EDS) to obtain elemental maps. X-ray diffraction (XRD) identified their mineral structure, X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT) mapped their internal structure and 3D distribution, quantitative backscattered electron (qBSE) imaging assessed their morphology and MD, nanoindentation measured their stiffness, and polarized light microscopy (PLM) evaluated the organic matrix composition., Results: Some specimens were composed of continuous carbonate apatite containing small amounts of proteins with a mineral to protein ratio much higher than in bone, and other specimens contained scattered agglomerates of various sizes with similar composition (FTIR-RM). Continuous or fragmented mineralization was present across the entire specimens (microCT). The apatite was much more crystallized than bone and dentin, and closer to enamel (XRD) and its calcium/phosphorous ratios were close to stoichiometric hydroxyapatite (SEM/SDD-EDS). The deposits also contained magnesium and sodium (SEM/SDD-EDS). The MD (qBSE) was closer to enamel than bone and dentin, as was the stiffness (nanoindentation) in the larger dense patches. Large mineralized areas were typically devoid of collagen; however, collagen was noted in some regions within the mineral or margins (PLM). qBSE, FTIR-RM and SEM/SDD-EDS maps suggest that the mineral is deposited first in a fragmented pattern followed by a wave of mineralization that incorporates these particles. Calcinosis masses with shorter duration appeared to have islands of mineralization, whereas longstanding deposits were solidly mineralized., Conclusions: The properties of the mineral present in the calcinosis masses are closest to that of enamel, while clearly differing from bone. Calcium and phosphate, normally present in affected tissues, may have precipitated as carbonate apatite due to local loss of mineralization inhibitors.