Expression of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) correlates with time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment in patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation

Autologous haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation is a treatment option for a variety of haematological malignancies. Engraftment following HSC transplantation is dependent upon the number and viability of the stem cells in the graft [1, 2]. Cryopreservation of HSCs is commonly used prior to conditioning for transplantation, however the process involved in storage of HSCs is known to reduce the viability and absolute number of CD34+ stem cells [3, 4]. Cell damage and ultimately cell death during the freeze / thawing process occurs in a proportion of HSCs as a result of damage to the plasma membrane and generation of oxygen free radicals [5].
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - Category: Hematology Authors: Source Type: research