Helping blood cells regenerate after radiation therapy

MIT researchers have devised a way to help blood cells regenerate faster, by stimulating a particular type of stem cell to secrete growth factors that help blood cell precursor cells differentiate into mature blood cells. This could help repopulate blood cells in cancer patients who receive bone marrow irradiation.

Schematic illustration of the mechanisms involving radiation therapy

Low-dose ionizing radiations leave scars on human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells: the role of reactive oxygen species

Cancer, MIT News

Frontiers Therapeutic Irradiation: Consequences for Bone and Bone Marrow Adipose Tissue

Interaction of Radiotherapy and Hyperthermia with the Immune System: a Brief Current Overview

Salivary gland regeneration: from salivary gland stem cells to three-dimensional bioprinting - ScienceDirect

Stem Cell Therapy: Overview, Benefits & Risks (2024)

Drug accelerates blood system's recovery after chemotherapy, radiation

Frontiers Radiotherapy induced immunogenic cell death by remodeling tumor immune microenvironment

Pathophysiology, Free Full-Text

National Institutes of Health (NIH), MIT News