*4.1. Isolation of PBMCs and Purification of PB-CD34*<sup>+</sup> *Cells*

This study was conducted using samples from healthy donors and patients, and the study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the Kosin University College of Medicine. Informed consent for the study was obtained from all donors. Purified BM- or PB-CD34<sup>+</sup> cells were obtained either from BM (Lonza, Basel, Swizerland) or from small aliquots of mobilized PB from healthy donors and patients. CD34<sup>+</sup> cells from PBMCs were immunoselected using the MACS CD34 MicroBead kit UltraPure (Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany). Human CD34<sup>+</sup> cells were enriched from PBMCs by magnetic bead positive selection using Miltenyi immunomagnetically activated cell sorter (MACS; Miltenyi Biotec). PB-CD34<sup>+</sup> cells were then stained for CD45, and the CD34<sup>+</sup> purity of greater than 95% was reanalyzed by flow cytometry. PB-CD34<sup>+</sup> cells were expanded in serum-free medium (SFEM) (Stem Cell Technologies, Vancouver, Canada) supplemented with 50 ng/mL rhSCF (PeproTech, Rocky Hill, NJ, USA), 10 ng/mL rhIL3 (PeproTech), and 25 μg/mL LDL (Stem Cell Technologies).
