• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Monday, October 6, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Cancer

Scientists uncover new way to grow rare life-saving blood stem cells

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
April 28, 2016
in Cancer
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Hamilton, ON (April 27, 2016) – Researchers at McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute have made significant steps forward in understanding the stem cells of the human blood system after discovering how a key protein allows for better control and regeneration of these cells.

This discovery, published today in the scientific journal Nature, illustrates how a protein called Musashi-2 regulates the function and development of important blood stem cells.

This knowledge provides new strategies that can be used to control the growth of these cells — cells that can be used as therapeutics for a range of life-threatening diseases but are, in general, in very short supply.

The senior author is Kristin Hope, principal investigator at the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute and assistant professor with McMaster University's Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. The research also involved collaborators from the University of California San Diego, University of Toronto and the University of Montreal.

Hope says the discovery could be impactful for the tens of thousands of patients suffering from a range of blood-based disorders including leukemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia, sickle cell disease and more.

"We've really shone a light on the way these stem cells work. We now understand how they operate at a completely new level, and that provides us with a serious advantage in determining how to maximize these stem cells in therapeutics. With this newfound ability to control over the regeneration of these cells, more people will be able to get the treatment they need."

The research team specifically looked at stem cells from umbilical cord blood, a proven but under-utilized source of stem cells for the treatment of adult blood cancers. These stem cells have the potential to become an important therapeutic for the thousands of people suffering from blood cancers who are awaiting the life-saving transplants.

Cells from umbilical cord blood have unique properties that make them easier to use for transplantation, including accessibility and adaptability. As a result, they allow for safer and more effective transplants.

The problem, Hope points out, is that there are very few stem cells available in individual cord blood samples — only about five per cent of all samples actually contain enough cells for a transplant. The team's research into the importance of Musashi-2 and its role in expanding the number of stem cells in a given cord blood sample could help ease the current stem cell shortages.

Gene Yeo, associate professor at the University of California San Diego, co-corresponding author of the study, adds, "Most stem cell studies focus on proteins that bind DNA to control gene output. The prominent role we found for Musashi-2, a protein that instead binds to RNA, also underscores an urgency to study this second layer of gene regulation in stem cells."

Hope says: "Providing enhanced numbers of stem cells for transplantation could alleviate some of the current post-transplantation complications and allow for faster recoveries, in turn reducing overall health care costs and wait times for newly diagnosed patients seeking treatment."

"By expanding the stem cells as we have done, many more donated samples could now be used for transplants."

###

The study was supported by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Blood Services, Health Canada, the National Institutes of Health and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Editors: Pictures of Kristin Hope and slides of stem cells may be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/1pxUIw1.

For more information, contact:
Veronica McGuire
Media Co-ordinator
Faculty of Health Sciences
McMaster University
905-525-9140, ext. 22169
[email protected]

Media Contact

Veronica McGuire
[email protected]
905-525-9140 x22169
@mcmasteru

Home

The post Scientists uncover new way to grow rare life-saving blood stem cells appeared first on Scienmag.

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

First Human Study Reveals Microplastics Alter Gut Microbiome Composition

October 6, 2025

New Grading System Proposed for Invasive Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Journal of Thoracic Oncology Study

October 6, 2025

NFKBIE in GBM: Hedgehog Pathway Target

October 6, 2025

Transformer Model Predicts Cervical Cancer Prognosis

October 6, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    95 shares
    Share 38 Tweet 24
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    93 shares
    Share 37 Tweet 23
  • Ohio State Study Reveals Protein Quality Control Breakdown as Key Factor in Cancer Immunotherapy Failure

    73 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • New Insights Suggest ALS May Be an Autoimmune Disease

    71 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 18

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

USC Team Unveils Groundbreaking Optical Device Inspired by Optical Thermodynamics

First Human Study Reveals Microplastics Alter Gut Microbiome Composition

BRPF1: Epigenetic Cancer Regulator and Therapy Target

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 63 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.