Versatility Discovered in Stem Cells in Blood

Researchers have found evidence that stem cells circulating in the bloodstream can grow new tissue in the liver, gut and skin.

Stem cells found in the bone marrow were once believed to make only new blood cells. But recent studies have upset that dogma, finding that they apparently develop into a variety of cells throughout the body.

Stem cells in the blood are virtually identical to the bone marrow variety. The new study in the March 7 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that they, too, can morph into many different kinds of tissue.

Six women got transplants from a brother, so researchers looked for male cells in tissue taken from the women’s livers, gastrointestinal tracts and skin.

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports