Stem Cell Collection

Recent advances in the area of stem cell research suggest that redirected differentiation of stem cells may prove useful for the treatment of a variety of diseases including diabetes and other systemic diseases. In the hematopoietic system, recent studies have also demonstrated the ability of adult erythroid stem cells to undergo differentiation toward a fetal-like phenotype. This fetal-like phenotype is crucial in eliminating the clinical sequelae of sickle syndromes and beta hemoglobinopathies. However, additional studies are needed to determine if these results can be applied to patients with diseases involving hematopoietic stem cells or other blood cells. In addition, it is clear that the stem cells from separate donors do not possess identical properties of growth and differentiation. The immediate aim of this protocol is to obtain hematopoietic stem cells from many human donors for examination of the biological properties of those cells. The study is also designed to determine if the donor-specific factors can influence the properties of their hematopoietic stem cells. Each volunteer will undergo stem cell mobilization after administration of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) for five consecutive days followed by a large volume apheresis on the 5th day after G-CSF injection. The harvested product will be purified for the primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells and viably preserved in multiple aliquots. The cells will then be studied in-depth for a better understanding of their biological properties, growth and differentiation. Donor-specific information will be correlated with these research studies to identify factors that may assist with the understanding of adult stem cell biology.