New Strategy to Improve Stem Cell Transplantation

November 20, 2014

(Harvard Stem Cell Institute) – HSCI scientists at Harvard’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine have discovered that blocking the production of a common cellular ‘glue’ (heparan sulfate) can force blood stem cells from their home in the bone marrow into the bloodstream. From there, the stem cells can be easily extracted for transplantation. Also, blocking heparan sulfate production allowed transplant recipients to accept stem cells, without the need for chemotherapy or radiation to empty out their bone marrow.