Blood stem cells make all the different kinds of blood and immune cells in our body. Scientists have long been trying to make these cells in the lab and use them to make different blood cell types on demand. Mastering these feats could help make bone marrow transplants more efficient and less toxic, and could lead to better treatments for anemias, immune deficiencies, and other blood disorders. But blood stem cells’ origins and workings still remain somewhat mysterious.
Studies from three different labs within the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s Hospital now provide some important clues into how blood stem cells arise in nature, and how they behave in real time in a living animal. The labs are also affiliated with the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
