CD117 Antibodies for Low-Impact Selective Destruction of Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is, in essence, a way to replace a person's immune system. These stem cells give rise to all of the immune cells in the body. There are numerous reasons why HSCT is a traumatic procedure, with a comparatively high risk of death, and thus only widely used for very severe diseases. One of them is the struggle to rebuild the immune system rapidly enough for the patient not to succumb to infection; this is particularly challenging in old patients, where the thymus is much diminished and the pace of T cell creation is slowed in comparison to youth. The thymus is where thymocytes produced by hematopoietic stem cells go to mature into T cells, and the rate of production depends on the amount of active thymic tissue that remains. Another issue is the need for aggressive chemotherapy to clear out the existing population of hematopoietic stem cells prior to transplantation, which in and of itself bears risk, particularly to older, frail individuals. Nonetheless, swapping out the existing immune system for a new one is has many potential uses, far more than are presently actively addressed by the medical community. It is a way to control autoimmunity, suppressing that condition for years, based on results from trials against type 1 diabetes. Of greater interest to our community, rebuilding the damaged immune system of an older person via HSCT should be capable of reversing many of the issues associated with immune aging. (Though it really...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs