<p>In a ground-breaking discovery, German researchers have successfully developed artificial bone marrow - capable of hosting life-saving hematopoietic stem cells that can facilitate the treatment of leukemia in a few years.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Till date, the affected cells of a leukemic patient are replaced by healthy hematopoietic stem cells - blood cells that give rise to all the other blood cells - from an eligible donor.<br /><br />Now, the scientists at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology's (KIT) Institute of Functional Interfaces in Germany have artificially reproduced major properties of natural bone marrow in the laboratory. <br /><br />With the help of synthetic polymers, the scientists created a porous structure that possesses essential properties of natural bone marrow.<br /><br />This can be used for the reproduction of stem cells at the laboratory, said a study published in the journal Biomaterials.<br /><br />"We introduced hematopoietic stem cells isolated from cord blood into this artificial bone marrow. Analyses with various methods revealed that the cells really reproduce in the newly-developed artificial bone marrow," said Cornelia Lee-Thedieck from the KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces.<br /><br />In a normal human being, blood cells are continuously replaced by new ones supplied by hematopoietic stem cells located in the bone marrow. <br /><br />"This knowledge might contribute to producing an artificial stem cell niche for the specific reproduction of stem cells and the treatment of leukemia in 10-15 years from now," said the study.<br /><br />A prototype has already been developed by scientists at KIT, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart and Tubingen University in Germany. </p>
<p>In a ground-breaking discovery, German researchers have successfully developed artificial bone marrow - capable of hosting life-saving hematopoietic stem cells that can facilitate the treatment of leukemia in a few years.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Till date, the affected cells of a leukemic patient are replaced by healthy hematopoietic stem cells - blood cells that give rise to all the other blood cells - from an eligible donor.<br /><br />Now, the scientists at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology's (KIT) Institute of Functional Interfaces in Germany have artificially reproduced major properties of natural bone marrow in the laboratory. <br /><br />With the help of synthetic polymers, the scientists created a porous structure that possesses essential properties of natural bone marrow.<br /><br />This can be used for the reproduction of stem cells at the laboratory, said a study published in the journal Biomaterials.<br /><br />"We introduced hematopoietic stem cells isolated from cord blood into this artificial bone marrow. Analyses with various methods revealed that the cells really reproduce in the newly-developed artificial bone marrow," said Cornelia Lee-Thedieck from the KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces.<br /><br />In a normal human being, blood cells are continuously replaced by new ones supplied by hematopoietic stem cells located in the bone marrow. <br /><br />"This knowledge might contribute to producing an artificial stem cell niche for the specific reproduction of stem cells and the treatment of leukemia in 10-15 years from now," said the study.<br /><br />A prototype has already been developed by scientists at KIT, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart and Tubingen University in Germany. </p>