Alicia Barcena, PhD

University of California San Francisco

Evaluation of human fetal membranes as a source of hematopoietic stem cells.

Fetal/newborn hematopoietic stem cells have a higher potential for proliferation compared with adult hematopoietic stem cells; therefore, they might offer an advantage to patients undergoing a stem cell transplant. In an earlier study, Bárcena and colleagues found that human placentas, like umbilical cord blood, contain hematopoietic stem cells. They are currently investigating whether such cells also are contained in fetal membranes — the thin layers of tissue surrounding a fetus, sometimes called the chorion and the amnion. If this is found to be the case, the fetal membranes, which are typically discarded after birth, will be a substantial source of hematopoietic stem cells for patients.

Daniel Gonzalez-Nieto, PhD

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Connexin-43 in the hematopoietic stem cell niche.

Gonzalez-Nieto and colleagues are investigating the role that intercellular communication mediated by proteins called connexins plays in the development of blood cells from hematopoietic stem cells. Specifically, their research is focused on the role of connexin-43 in the bone marrow. Their study could provide valuable information regarding the regulatory mechanisms by which connexin-43 controls hematopoietic stem cell function in the bone marrow hematopoietic microenvironment. This research may be useful in combating many disorders relating to blood cell production as well as mitigating the effects of chemotherapy on the production of blood cells.  

Taku Kambayashi, MD, PhD

University of Pennsylvania-Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

The role of GMCSF in regulatory T-cell proliferation and homeostasis.

The immune system is a vital aspect of the body’s defenses, but sometimes it can become too much of a good thing. Kambayashi and colleagues are investigating the role that a specific protein — called granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor — plays in supporting and inducing the production of regulatory T cells, which suppress overexuberant immune activity in the body. Kambayashi’s study may help pave the way for the use of regulatory T cells in novel therapies for graft-versus-host disease, transplant rejection and autoimmunity.

Chance John Luckey, MD, PhD

Brigham and Women's Hospital Blood Bank

Directed differentiation of embryonic stem cells by regulated caspase-9 cleavage of zona-occludens-2.

Stem cells hold remarkable promise as the basis of therapy for many diseases that are currently incurable. Luckey and colleagues are striving to determine how the splitting, or cleavage, of a protein called zona-occludens-2 by another protein called caspase-9 affects a stem cell’s transformation into a specialized cell, such as a heart or liver cell. Their research may help pave the way for the future development of stem cell-based cellular therapies for patients with cardiovascular disease, liver disease and a host of other conditions.

Nicolas Pineault, PhD

Héma-Québec

A cellular-based therapy to prevent or reduce thrombocytopenia.

Thrombocytopenia, a dangerous condition in which there are not enough platelets in the blood, can result from several diseases as well as high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. Platelet transfusion is currently the only treatment available; however, patients undergoing multiple transfusions are at greater risk of developing an immune response to the donor platelets. Pineault and his research team are aiming to establish a cellular-based therapy that will hasten platelet recovery in patients, which would translate into a faster return to health.  

Ayaz Rahman, MD

Emory University Division of Cardiology

The effects of fresh versus older RBC transfusions in subjects with cardiovascular disease.

Studies suggest that the outcomes of patients receiving transfusions of red blood cells, or RBCs, are worse when older units of RBCs are used (e.g., greater than 14 days) and in high volume. Rahman and colleagues are studying whether the storage of RBCs for durations of time approved by the Food and Drug Administration, in conjunction with certain cardiovascular risk factors in patients, results in illness and death in some patients. This research could improve patient care by helping to distinguish between patients who can be safely transfused with older units of RBCs and those who require fresher units.

Rahima Zennadi, PhD

Duke University Medical Center

Regulation by nitric oxide of sickle red cell adhesion.

Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic blood disorder in the world. One of its characteristics is the blockage of blood vessels by sickle-shaped RBCs. Although RBC transfusion has often been used as a therapy for patients with the disease, studies have shown that stored normal RBCs are deficient in nitric oxide, a compound that helps regulate the dilation and constriction of blood vessels. Zennadi and colleagues are investigating whether raising the levels of nitric oxide in stored RBCs would help unblock blood vessels in the setting of vaso-occlusion in sickle cell disease.