Preparation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from the human placenta.

This unit describes a protocol to isolate hematopoietic progenitors and stem cells from human placentae isolated at different time points in development and at the full-term gestational stage. The placenta is extensively washed to eliminate blood contamination on its surface and inside the villi (the vascular compartments of the placenta). The placenta is then mechanically minced into pieces, which are subsequently digested with an enzyme cocktail. After dissociation and filtration, placental cells are available for further phenotypic and functional analyses.