transplantation, immunology, stem cells, oncology, and hematological
diseases
Licensing
protease, protease inhibitors, bone marrow, adhesion
molecules, stem cells
Mobilization of stem cells in individuals is
currently used for collecting stem cells which
can be used to therapeutically intervene in
disease processes in the human body. Since a
number of years, cytokine mobilized stem cells
have become the primary source of hematopoietic
stem cells (HSC) and progenitor cells (HPC) for
transplantation in humans. Despite the wide
applications of mobilized HSC/HPC, the
mechanisms that contribute to the release of
HSC/HPC into the peripheral blood are not
completely understood. However, evidence has
accumulated that HSC/HPC mobilization is a
multistep process in which multiple cell types
and molecules are involved.
In the present invention it was found that stem
cell mobility in an individual is regulated by,
among others, a balance between a certain
protease and an inhibitor. The academics have
identified a novel target to increase the
numbers of mobilized stem cells through altering
this balance.
Proof-of-principle studies using purified
antibodies directed against target molecules are
in progress.
By targeting a novel pathway, this invention aims to
increase the yield and to substantially shorten the
response time (days to hours) of growth factor
induced stem cell mobilization.
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