For bone marrow transplantation, stem cells are routinely harvested from healthy donors and used to treat patients with cancers including leukaemia.

Current harvesting methods take a long time and require injections of a growth factor to boost stem cell numbers. This often leads to side effects.

The discovery, published in Nature Communications, reduces the time required to obtain adequate numbers of stem cells, without the need for a growth factor.

The method combines a newly discovered molecule (known as BOP), with an existing type of molecule (AMD3100) to mobilise the stem cells found in bone marrow out into the blood stream.

Researchers were able to demonstrate that combining the two molecules directly impacts stem cells so they can be seen in the blood stream within an hour of a single dosage.

Until now AMD3100 has only been effective in increasing stem cell numbers when combined with the growth factor.

The scientists found that combining the two small molecules not only eliminates the need for the growth factor, but when the harvested cells are transplanted they can replenish the entire bone marrow system, and there are no known side effects.

So far successful pre-clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the treatment.

The next step is a phase 1 clinical trial assessing the combination of BOP molecule with the growth factor, prior to the eventual successful combination of the two small molecules BOP and AMD3100.

http://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2016/New-way-to-harvest-stem-cells-better-for-donors?featured=27F6622E2C954B819F5E36ECE881FA68