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Project

MSC/MAPC-based modulation of the immune/inflammatory mechanisms underlying bone marrow failure in MDS.

Primary myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are heterogeneous clonal blood stem cell disorders, causing poor production of mature blood cells and eventually leading to acute leukemia. MDS is the most common blood stem cell disorder with a yearly incidence of more than 300 patients in Belgium. The etiology of bone marrow (BM) failure in MDS is multifactorial and is believed to be caused by genetic defects in the blood stem cell and/or abnormalities in the immune system and the BM microenvironment. As medications that modulate the immune system and cells in the BM microenvironment improve blood cell production, we will here test in cell cultures as well as in MDS mouse models if stem cells (MSC and MAPC) derived from donor BM, which are known to be strong immunomodulators and which are part of the BM microenvironment, can improve blood cell production. These studies will be accompanied by studies aimed at following the development of MDS and the fate of the grafted stem cells in mice non-invasively, as well as extensive longitudinal characterization of the immune signature in MDS patients and MDS mouse models.
Date:1 Jan 2013 →  31 Dec 2014
Keywords:Immune signature, Bioluminescence imaging, Immunomodulation, Adult bone marrow-derived stem cells, MDS
Disciplines:Biomaterials engineering, Biological system engineering, Biomechanical engineering, Other (bio)medical engineering, Environmental engineering and biotechnology, Industrial biotechnology, Other biotechnology, bio-engineering and biosystem engineering