Grant: Project Grant

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) ensure the lifelong production of all essential blood cells in the organism, and transplantation of these cells is used for the treatment of certain types of cancer of the blood system. HSC transplantation (HSCT) requires a stem cell source, typically peripheral blood or bone marrow from a compatible donor, however, such a donor is not available for 40% of patients in need of a graft. HSCs present in cord blood (CB) represent an interesting alternative for these patients since donor compatibility requirements are not as stringent as for other types of grafts, however, the low numbers of HSCs present in CB units prevent their widespread use for HSCT. In an attempt to improve the situation, our group has discovered a novel molecule, UM171, which expands CB HSCs in culture. The benefits of expanding CB HSCs with this molecule for HSCT are currently being studied in a clinical trial. The study of HSCs and the development of additional HSC agonists to further improve their expansion and reduce time to engraftment, the major challenge associated with HSCT, is limited by our inability to isolate pure HSC populations from CB, which would be greatly improved by the identification of novel stem cell markers. Our group has recently optimized a proteomics approach that allows the identification of markers at the surface of cells. This method will be used to identify specific HSC markers, with the goal of improving HSC purification from heterogeneous CB samples and develop novel strategies for their expansion. Ultimately, our findings should help optimise HSCT and provide a better prognosis to patients affected by acute myeloid leukemia and other blood diseases.