Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are cells which, by dividing, ensure the renewal of mature blood cells such as white blood cells, blood cells, Red cells and platelets. Researchers in Marseille have discovered that HSCs can also urgently produce leukocytes (white blood cells) to respond to inflammation or infection.
A warning signal
Blood stem cells know that we must intervene in emergency situations by relying on certain warning signals, as Dr Sandrine Sarrazin from Inserm, co-author of this work, explained to AFP. “We have discovered that a biological molecule (a growth factor” M-CSF “) produced in large quantities by the body during infection or inflammation indicates the path to take for stem cells.
According to the researcher, M-CSF acts as a signal that activates certain white blood cells by passing through a gene in the stem cell. Thus, the new cells will be able to fight against the danger detected in the body. In the case of an infection for example, macrophages, white blood cells which absorb and destroy foreign elements, will be produced to fight the infection.
This discovery could be used “to artificially accelerate the manufacturing [des] stem cells in patients at acute risk of infection, “said Dr Michael Sieweke. This could ultimately benefit thousands of patients with leukemia having benefited from a bone marrow transplant and who present a risk of infection.
