Hematopoietic stem cells: trans-differentiation, niche, development and metabolism

Abstract:

As early as in 1922, Fabricius-Moller showed that protecting bones from radiation could prevent several blood defects following radiation. Hematopoietic stem cells that reside in the bone marrow (BM) make the basis of hematopoietic repair. In 1958, first bone marrow transplantation started, well before hematopoietic stem cell assays became available or before they could be identified or isolated. Since then, extra-ordinary progress has been made on the basic biology of these cells, various aspects of which are already in use in clinics all over the world. Even after being the most well studied stem cells with considerable use in clinic, their true potential has not been harnessed. This is mainly due to the fact that HSCs are difficult to manipulate and the efforts for their ex vivo expansion have largely been unsuccessful. The presentation will involve the work that has been done to understand;

• The potential of HSCs to cross lineage boundaries and aid in repair of tissues other than blood.
• Regulation of HSC function by extrinsic factors from their microenvironment.
• Their functional and genetic hallmarks during development while generation of the HSC pool, which could identify novel regulators of HSC proliferation
• Metabolic requirements of HSCs that makes the foundation of their functional activity
• How differentiation of pluripotent stem cells, the potential unlimited source of HSCs, can be made more efficient.