A new technique can hugely increase the number of active cells from adult bone marrow donors, researchers have announced. They say the success of the technique could mean a significant expansion in the pool of stem cells available for transplantation.
Researchers from Israel, working with colleagues in the USA and Canada, used modified mRNA technology to “awaken” adult stem cells. This was based on the identification of a key protein involved in the activation of stem cells: the Fli-1 transcription factor.
The findings have been published in Nature Immunology and, according to the researchers, represent a breakthrough that could improve stem cell transplant rates significantly.
The project was led by scientists from Tel Aviv University and the Sheba Medical Center. The next step is clinical trials, they say.
Study co-leader Dr Tomer Itkin said: “This new method significantly expands the available pool of stem cells for transplantation without relying on rare bone marrow donors.
“Additionally, the method can be used to treat patients whose stem cells have undergone genetic correction, such as those with thalassaemia and hereditary anaemia, as well as patients who have undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy and have an insufficient number of stem cells for autologous transplantation.”
Source:
Itkin T, Houghton S, Schreiner R, Lin Y, Badwe CR, Voisin V, Murison A, Seyedhassantehrani N, Kaufmann KB, Garcia-Prat L, Booth GT, Geng F, Liu Y, Gomez-Salinero JM, Shieh JH, Redmond D, Xiang JZ, Josefowicz SZ, Trapnell C, Pietras EM, Spencer JA, Levine R, Xiao W, Zangi L, Hadland B, Dick JE, Xie SZ, Rafii S. (2025) “Transcriptional activation of regenerative hematopoiesis via microenvironmental sensing.” Nature Immunology, 25 February 2025, doi: 10.1038/s41590-025-02087-w.
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-025-02087-w
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