Abstract
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are being considered as one of the most potential regimens for regenerative therapy in various disease states and last several decades of research helped us to understand them better regarding the regenerative capabilities of HSC. HSC can be isolated from different sources such as peripheral blood, bone marrow and cord blood. Rigorous scientific investigations on cell surface marker, biology, niche and functionality determined that self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation capability possessed by HSCs and easy accessibility made them one of the most used stem cells for clinical applications. This review focuses not only on the recent advancement of HSC in restoration of hematopoiesis in different immunological and hematological malignancies but also on the contribution of HSC to vasculogenesis and angiogenesis especially in ischemic conditions in various tissues. We have emphasized about the promise in use of the HSC in regenerative medicine in various preclinical and clinical set-up. Being the first adult stem cell in the history of regenerative medicine, basic biology of HSC is well documented. Several attempts have been made to manipulate the basic biology of HSCs to adjust efficient implementation of HSC in preclinical models. In order to increase the benefit of transplantation effect in clinical practice, large numbers of stem cells were required, which were made possible by expansion of HSC. Here, we discussed in detail the techniques used to manipulate HSC niche and modifications of external stimulating factors to achieve large number of transplantable HSCs. HSCs are also being used as a targeted vehicle for gene delivery discussed in detail. Finally, we have cited some of the important patents, which reflect the breadth of the advances in basic HSC biology, expansion technique, preclinical models and clinical transplantation.
Keywords: Cord blood, stem cells, nanofiber, expansion, gene, engineering, overexpression, regeneration