Blog | HemaCare

Scientists at UC San Francisco discovered a new method for controlling the natural killer cells in the immune system through tissue implants and cell therapies that can enhance immunotherapies’ ability to detect/destroy cancerous tumors.

A major challenge with regenerative medicine is the immune system’s ability to reject implanted tissues recognized as non-self. Immunological rejection is a significant obstacle that stunts success in stem cell transplantation. Overcoming immune rejection of transplanted stem cells can support the development of off-the-shelf immunotherapies that can be used in any patient.

Two teams of scientists have discovered a set of inherited gene variants that can increase the risk of developing mutations in HSC’s in their lifetimes. The mutations can lead to two different age-related disorders: clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential and myeloproliferative neoplasms. 

Advancing age has been associated with an increased risk of various chronic diseases and conditions. Mutations in hematopoietic stem cells increase as people age and may be linked to an increased risk of leukemia and cardiovascular disease. Somatic mutations in hematopoietic stem cells are connected to the development of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) characterized by an excess of red blood cells, leukocytes, and platelets that leads to an increased susceptibility to develop leukemia.

Healthy CD34 cells are used to replace stem cells in people whose normal blood cells have been damaged by cancer or other serious autoimmune diseases. Because patients often do not have enough healthy cells for an effective treatment dose, the starting material for these transplants often comes from healthy donors.

According to BMC, after a study was conducted with patients that had Type II Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease, researchers found the Linagliptin improved CD34+ve Endothelial Progenitor Cells.

Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disorder characterized by an impaired response to insulin production. There is a significant impairment of the endothelium in DM, and this endothelial dysfunction is a fundamental change that leads to cardiovascular disease progression. Endothelial dysfunction also plays an important role in the effects on neovascularization and impaired wound healing.

Researchers from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China found overexpressing c-Jun promoted accelerated wound healing.

The high levels of blood glucose common in people and animals with diabetes can lead to peripheral vascular disease, peripheral neuropathy, and an impaired immune response. The resultant decreased blood flow and lower immune cell migration to a wound impede the normal healing process. Medical approaches to consistently or reliably improve slow or nonhealing wounds is lacking. However, the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is being studied as an intervention to promote better cutaneous wound healing. MSCs are crucial for regenerative wound healing because they have the capacity to enhance cellular differentiation, immune-modulation, and release of growth factors needed for angiogenesis and re-epithelialization, thus promoting healthy granulation tissue formation.