Dose of transplanted blood-forming stem cells affects their behavior

Clockwise from top left: Study authors Casey Brewer, Elizabeth Chu, Rong Lu and Mike Chin (Photos by Cristy Lytal)

Unlike aspirin, bone marrow doesn’t come with a neatly printed label with dosage instructions. However, a new study published in Cell Reports provides clues about how the dose of transplanted bone marrow might affect patients undergoing this risky procedure, frequently used to treat cancer and blood diseases.

In the study, USC Stem Cell researcher Casey Brewer and colleagues in the laboratory of Rong Lu found that transplantation dose affects the behavior of blood-forming stem cells in bone marrow — called hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs.