Stem cells found in unexpected spot
From Times wire reports
Scientists have found blood stem cells hiding out in the edges of bone marrow, and said their finding could help ease lifesaving stem cell transplants for diseases such as cancer.
The cells are not clustered throughout bone marrow, as had been thought, but live alongside bone-forming cells on the edges of the marrow, the team at the University of Michigan Medical School and University of Tsukuba in Japan wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This might make transplants easier, said Dr. Doug Engel, who worked on the study. Currently doctors must remove large amounts of bone marrow from a donor and separate stem cells, which are infused into a sick patient.
