The CTCE-0214 treated cells demonstrated significantly improved survival as well as markedly enhanced engraftment characteristics in an experimental model of stem cell transplantation.

The capacity of cord blood to treat cancer and a wide range of degenerative diseases is directly related to the quantity and quality of stem cells in cord blood. CTCE-0214 in a dose dependent manner significantly increased the expansion of all cell subsets studied, including important cell subtypes called CFU-GEMM and SCID-repopulating cells which have been identified as important stem cells for clinical use.

Improved methods to increase the number of the most primitive stem cells are expected to expand the potential therapeutic uses of cord blood in regenerative medicine. About 5,000 patients, mostly children with cancer and other non-malignant diseases have had cord stem cell transplants to restore the blood and immune system following high dose chemotherapy. Recent scientific breakthroughs suggest the immature stem cells from cord blood have the capacity to regenerate specialized cells for neural and cardiac applications. Cord blood is routinely harvested after delivery of full-term births and is stored frozen for future use by cord banks around the world. It is estimated that over 100,000 samples of cord blood are now stored in these banks.

"Human umbilical cord blood contains primitive stem cells which have tremendous potential for regenerative medicine. However, we have yet to realize the full potential of cord blood therapy", stated study author Dr. Karen Li. "Transplantation-related complications remain high in adults, partly due to the low number of stem cells collected from cord blood. With CTCE-0214 and a cocktail of growth factors, we were able to expand the number of CD34+ cells to over 10 fold".

Enhanced Survival, Expansion, and Engraftment of Human Cord Blood Stem Cells using Synthetic SDF-1 Analog