Adult Stem Cell Growth Gene Mapped

U.S. medical scientists say they have mapped, for the first time, the gene that regulates adult stem cell growth.

University of Kentucky Professor Gary Van Zant, postdoctoral fellow Ying Liang and colleagues genetically mapped a stem cell gene and its protein product, Laxetin, and then identified the gene itself. That marks the first time such a complete study on a stem cell gene has been carried out, Van Zant said.

The gene is important because it helps regulate the number of adult stem cells in the body, particularly in bone marrow. Now that it has been identified, researchers hope the gene — and its protein product Latexin — can be used clinically to increase the stem cell count in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.

Other researchers involved in the project included scientists from the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

We’re thinking about cancer in a big way, Van Zant said. This is a great example of translational research from the most basic type of genetic research all the way to possible treatments for patients.

The study is detailed in the current issue of the journal Nature Genetics.