(Iowa News Service) – A team of scientists at Iowa State University has discovered new ways to use stem cells to treat blood disorders. This advancement in what’s known as “regenerative medicine” could eliminate the need for bone marrow transplants. This discovery essentially gives scientists the ability to stop the body’s so-called biological clock to treat potentially lethal blood diseases.

Iowa State Assistant Genetics Professor Clyde Campbell said scientists now have the ability to inject patients with their own stem cells to fight leukemia, lymphoma, and anemia. “So, the more stem cells we have,” said Campbell, “the better our chances to generate enough tissue to actually be beneficial to patients suffering from certain disorders.” The group’s research was published in the journal Nature Communications in the Fall.

The body develops a lifetime’s worth of stem cells before birth. But Campbell said the Iowa State advancement allows scientists to develop them specifically for therapeutic use, which is new.

A Liquid Nitrogen bank containing suspension of stem cells. Cell culture for the biomedical diagnostic.

He said scientists can now manipulate switches in the body’s biological clock that tell stem cells when to expand and when to stop expanding. “And so,” said Campbell, “now we have the capability of manipulating these switches to generate more stem cells in the laboratory.”

Campbell said now scientists will focus on how to integrate the patient’s lab-grown stem cells into their treatment options, and potentially eliminate the need for painful – and often unsuccessful – bone marrow transplants.