Researchers develop molecule that boosts cord blood stem cells

Sheryl Ubelacker, The Canadian Press Published Thursday, September 18, 2014 2:46PM EDT Last Updated Thursday, September 18, 2014 6:31PM EDT

TORONTO -- Canadian researchers have found a way to boost the number of stem cells in umbilical cord blood so more patients with leukemia and other blood-related cancers could receive potentially life-saving transplants.

The key to the breakthrough technique is a molecule developed at the Universite de Montreal, coupled with a bioreactor designed at the University of Toronto, which allows scientists to significantly expand the number of stem cells from a single unit of cord blood.

"Basically it's going to give access to about 10 times as many cords in (cord blood) banks," said Dr. Guy Sauvageau, principal investigator of stem cell genetics at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer at the Montreal university. "It's as if you were to multiply by 10 today the number of cord blood units in the world."

The molecule, called UM171, was discovered serendipitously. It had been created by a chemist at the institute working on another program but didn't work for its intended purpose, "so they just threw it in what we call a library of compounds," Sauvageau said Thursday from Montreal.

When his research team began testing compounds from among thousands in the library, UM171 "was the only one that really worked."

Stem cells from donated umbilical cord blood are able to give rise to all the types of cells that make up blood, including the immune cells that protect the body and fight infection. The same is true of bone marrow, but finding a suitable donor is more difficult.

For some people with blood-related cancers like leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma, getting a stem cell transplant to replace their own blood system is often the treatment of last resort.

But the biggest hurdle for doctors is finding enough cord blood stem cells that are a compatible match and won't cause severe rejection symptoms in recipients, he said. Typically, there are not enough stem cells in a single cord blood unit to regenerate an adult's blood system; only five per cent of cord blood bank units can be used for large adults.

"And there's another reason why this is becoming more of a problem, because we have more and more ethnic groups in our society and these people's access to a matched unrelated donor is more limited than for most Caucasians."

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Researchers develop molecule that boosts cord blood stem cells