Method of screening a compound for hematopoietic activity

Patent Number: 5965437

This patent teaches the in vitro purification of early hematopoietic stem cells by killing of the mature ones. This is performed through addition of a hematopoietic growth factor, together with a cytotoxic agent that only kills dividing cells. The hematopoietic stem cells that are very primitive will not be killed since the primitive hematopoietic stem cells do not undergo division very easily.

Subsequent to selection of the primitive hematopoietic stem cells, the cells are screen with agents in order to identify agents that are capable of inducing either differentiation or proliferation.

This patent is very useful for drug discovery. One wonders whether similar approaches may be used for the screening of compounds in other types of histological stem cells such as cardiac, muscle, or hepatic stem cells.

View this patent on the USPTO website.