Study Identifies Potential New Source for Adult Stem Cells
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Nov. 13, 2003) — Blood stem
cells hold great promise for treating inherited blood
disorders and certain autoimmune diseases. They also
are key in making bone marrow transplantation safer
and more successful for patients. But because these
cells are so rare, researchers have a difficult time
harvesting them from donors. In research reported in
the online version of the journal Blood, Whitehead scientists Harvey
Lodish and Cheng Cheng Zhang report the discovery
of a new blood stem cell growth factor, IGF-2, to add
to the short list of known growth factors – that
is, proteins that affect cell growth, or in this case,
stem cell growth. This discovery provides a new tool
that allows researchers to multiply blood stem cells
in culture for potential therapeutic use.
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