Blueprint to Blood Stem Cells Developed!

First-ever comprehensive map of human blood stem cell development has been created by scientists at the University Of California – Los Angeles (UCLA), published today in the journal Nature. Blood stem cells are hematopoietic stem cells — ability to differentiate into unlimited copies of every type of blood cell in the human body.

The comprehensive map provides a blueprint for fully functional blood stem cells in the lab that may help formulate better treatment strategies for blood disorders including leukemia.

“Previously, if we tried to create a blood stem cell from a pluripotent cell and it didn’t transplant, we wouldn’t know where in the process we failed. Now, we can place the cells in our roadmap to see where we’re succeeding, where we’re falling short and fine-tune the differentiation process according to the instructions from the embryo.” “Now that we’ve created an online resource that scientists around the world can use to guide their research, the real work is starting. It’s a really exciting time to be in the field because we’re finally going to be seeing the fruits of our labor,” says Dr. Hanna Mikkola of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA, professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology in the UCLA College, and a member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, who led the study.

Source-Medindia