Researchers succeed in multiplying blood cells in the lab
April 16, 2009A team from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) at Université de Montréal has succeeded in producing a large quantity of laboratory stem cells from a small number of blood stem cells obtained from bone marrow. The multidisciplinary team, directed by Dr. Guy Sauvageau, thus took a giant step towards the development of a revolutionary treatment based on these stem cells. This worldwide first will advance stem cell research and could have major implications in several fields for which no treatment currently exists.
Every year in North America, nearly 4,000 people wait in vain for a bone marrow transplant due to the lack of compatible donors. It is known that a bone marrow stem cell transplant can reconstitute the recipient's bone marrow. The main difficulty is to obtain a sufficient number of compatible stem cells. Thanks to Dr. Sauvageau and his team, these patients will be able to obtain new bone marrow within the next few years. "It could be possible to envision transplants for all adults from existing umbilical cord blood banks. The stem cell content of these blood banks is currently too limited for large-scale use in adults," Dr. Sauvageau affirmed.
Organ transplants without side effects: the medicine of the future?
Currently, transplant recipients are condemned to take medications against rejection of the transplanted organ and suffer the side effects for the rest of their lives. However, "mouse studies exist, showing that bone marrow stem cells can prevent the rejection typically directed against solid organs," Dr. Sauvageau said.
Rejection occurs because the immune system cells manufactured by bone marrow attack the transplanted organ as if it were an invader. By extrapolation from laboratory studies, it is very likely that transplanting hematopoietic stem cells collected from the organ donor and developed in the laboratory could avoid rejection of this organ. This is why it is important to have large quantities of hematopoietic stem cells, so that compatible stem cells can be matched with the organ to be transplanted.
Using proteins to multiply stem cells
To produce large quantities of hematopoietic stem cells in the laboratory, Dr. Sauvageau's team identified 10 proteins out of 700 candidates. These 10 proteins are naturally present in hematopoietic stem cells and researchers can use each of them to force these cells to multiply in the laboratory. "The next step is to verify whether this also works in humans. Everything is already in place," Guy Sauvageau pointed out. These tests will be conducted at Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, one of the leading centres in Canada where stem cell transplants are performed. "If only one of the ten proteins allows hematopoietic stem cells to be multiplied in humans, we will be able to obtain the quantities of cells necessary to perform transplants. It will then be possible to say "mission accomplished"."
Researchers around the world are currently trying to harness the regenerative power of other types of stem cells to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's or diabetes. IRIC's research could also help them achieve their goal.
The work of Dr. Sauvageau's team has been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the findings are being published today in the prestigious scientific journal Cell.
-
Blood stem cell discovery is announced
Jan 23, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Molecule dictates how stem cells travel
Jan 14, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study identifies gene involved in blood stem cell replication, movement
Apr 09, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Embryonic stem cells might help reduce transplantation rejection
Sep 15, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Researchers uncover signaling pathway that regulates movement of blood-forming stem cells
Mar 25, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Is Everyday Technology Killing Us?
Feb 08, 2012
-
Exercise and weight loss
Feb 08, 2012
-
Why do we have head aches? Our brains can't feel anything.
Feb 07, 2012
-
"The end of diseases" by David Agus, interview from Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Feb 04, 2012
-
Oncolytic adenovirus
Feb 04, 2012
-
Nutrition label stuffs and diets
Feb 02, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Starve a virus, feed a cure? Findings show how some cells protect themselves against HIV
A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online ...
10 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Overeating may double risk of memory loss
New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
6 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Injured boomers beware: Know when to see doctor
(AP) -- It happened to nurse Jane Byron years after an in-line skating fall, business owner Haralee Weintraub while doing "men's" push-ups, and avid cyclist Gene Wilberg while lifting a heavy box.
11 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Declining health-care productivity in England: Who says so?
Reports that the National Health Service in England has been declining in productivity in the last decade appear to have been accepted as fact. However, a Viewpoint published Online First by The Lancet disputes this. The Vi ...
4 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice
Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Feb 09, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (58) |
17
|
Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...
New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside
There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell
Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...
Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact
Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.
Researchers find extensive RNA editing in human transcriptome
In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demons ...