Cell-to-cell fusion approach boosts supply of blood stem cells

A group of researchers has identified a specific protein that is critical for the expansion of blood stem cells. Their discovery, which has been published in Cell Reports, may lead to new methods for growing large quantities of these stem cells, both inside and outside of the human body. Although hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have enormous potential in treating incurable cancers, autoimmune diseases and inherited blood disorders, only one in 2500 cells in the blood marrow are HSCs. Within their study, the authors used an algorithm termed ‘VIPER’ to identify proteins capable of reprogramming other blood stem cells. Using this...