Key Bone Marrow Cells Hide At Edges

Scientists have found blood stem cells hiding out in the edges of bone marrow, and said on Monday their finding could help ease lifesaving stem cell transplants for diseases such as cancer.They invented a technique that makes it possible to see a stem cell alive in bone marrow -- something never done before.Scientists usually find the powerful but elusive cells by looking for proteins called markers that are active on the stem cells’ surfaces.The cells are not clustered throughout bone marrow, as had been thought, but live alongside bone-forming cells on the edges of the marrow, the team at the University of Michigan Medical School and University of Tsukuba in Japan wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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