High-throughput stem cell assay of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell proliferation

Patent Number: 7,354,729

This patent covers specific conditions for assessing ability of hematopoietic stem cells to proliferate or become metabolically active after exposure to a test agent in vitro.  Essentially the patent is useful for the screening of small molecules using high throughput systems for identification of hematopoietic stem cell modulators.

Specific hematopoietic stem cells covered in the patent include ones derived from the peripheral blood, bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, yolk sac, fetal liver and spleen.  Specific methods of assessing activation includes assessment of ATP content.

There are patents already issued for the hematopoietic stem cell, as well as for other methods of screening.  Perhaps one of the reasons that this patent issued is due to the specific screening process that was novel and non-obvious according to the examiner.

View this patent on the USPTO website.