Limitless Blood Supplies are a Close Reality

Pluripotent stem cells are primitive cells capable of becoming any type of mature cell in the body. They are a renewable source of replacement cells which have the potential to repair damaged tissue or treat degenerative diseases without invoking immune rejection. With this, they hold the potential for treating a myriad of disease pathologies including cancer, diabetes and hematological, cardiovascular, inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Unlocking the cellular mechanisms that regulate self-renewal, reprogramming and differentiation holds promise for new cellular therapies, regenerative medicine, and improvement of model systems to assess drug efficacy and toxicity.

Researchers have found a way to reprogram pluripotent stem cells leading to the potential production of any needed cell type. In a recent study, reprogrammed pluripotent stem cells were transferred into the bone marrow of mice and after 12 weeks, were able to produce a range of cells. The ability to turn ordinary cells into blood stem cells using genetic techniques opens up numerous potential disease treatments. Treatment prospects includes genetic editing in blood disorders such as sickle cell and immunological disorders to correct defects and to make functional cells. Stem cell research could provide insight into blood cancers including leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma as well as graft-versus-host diseases which effect many recipients. Further research is needed into the potential risk of cancer development. Once perfected, this research could save many lives but until then, voluntary blood donations are still essential.

For more information: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature22370.html

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