Stem Cells and Blood: Where have we come from... and where are we going?

Since 1961, they year when the first trial that characterized the behaviour of a stem cell in mice exposed to high doses of radiation was described, research in this field has proceeded at an unpredictable place. Knowledge of the function of hematopoietic stem cells which are responsible for forming blood cells facilitated the development of therapies based on the transplant of bone marrow and other cell source, e. g. blood from the umbilical cord. These breakthroughs, together with the progress of molecular biology and virology, made it possible to manipulate the genome of hematopoietic stem cells so effectively and safely that the transplant of genetically modified cells has become a variable therapeutic alternative for the treatment of certain genetic diseases and also cancer. This brief article describes some of the contributions that our Hematopoiesis and Gene Therapy Division of the CIEMAT and the CIBER for Rare Diseases has been developing in this fascinating field of stem cells and gene therapy, in the context of the international research being carried out in this area. (Author) 34 refs.