Enhanced retroviral gene transfer into CML and normal bone marrow, and CML and mobilized peripheral blood CD34+ cells using the recombinant fibronectin fragment CH‐296

Autologous stem cell transplantation is a therapeutic alternative for many chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients ineligible for the only curative treatment of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. In this study the retroviral transduction of CD34+ progenitor cells isolated from the bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) of patients with CML was compared to that of CD34+ cells isolated from the BM and PB of normal individuals and patients with non‐haematological malignancies. A highly significant increase in transduction of all cell types was achieved in the presence of the recombinant fibronectin fragment, CH‐296 (P