Artificial Bone Marrow Could Lead to New Leukemia Treatments

Artificial Bone Marrow Could Lead to New Leukemia Treatments
Jan-17-14
Researchers have developed an artificial bone marrow that could eventually be used to reproduce hematopoietic stem cells, opening the door to to new treatments for leukemia.

Current treatments for leukemia involve transplanting healthy hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from an eligible donor into the patient. However, this treatment is not an option for every patient, and HSCs do not live very long outside the bone marrow environment.

To broaden the range of possible treatments, researchers from the Young Investigators Group for Stem Cell–Material Interactions developed a spongy, hydrogel material that mimics the structure of trabecular bone—the substance inside bone that contains the bone marrow. The team then added proteins found in bone marrow to the hydrogel and created other conditions favorable for HSC-growth by adding mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow and umbilical cord. The new artificial bone marrow can be used to study the behavior of stem cells, which could in turn lead to ability to produce specific stem cells in the lab within ten to fifteen years.

Image: C. Lee-Thedieck/KIT
A synthetic scaffold structure similar to the bone is placed into a vessel for the cultivation of stem cells.

Artificial Bone Marrow Could Lead to New Leukemia Treatments


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