Dr. Sou Nakamura at the ceremony of 2011 Mary Rodes Gibson Memorial Award

The research team led by Dr. Koji Eto, a professor at CiRA, has developed a new system to produce platelets derived from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which was presented during the 53rd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, which was held from Dec. 10 to 13 in San Diego, U.S.

The research group in cooperation with researchers at the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Tokyo successfully generated an immortalized megakaryocyte cell line derived from human iPS cells. Immortalized megakaryocyte cells are the precursor cells that develop into platelets and can grow indefinitely in vitro. Each such cell can produce 30 to 40 platelets after growing mature.

Eto's group have been studying on the platelet generation method using iPS cells or embryonic stem (ES) cells. Its previous method failed to produce such a large number of platelets. Human iPS cell-derived platelets made by the new generation protocol functioned normally when they were transplanted into immunodeficient mouse models, according to Eto.

Because unlike other blood cells, platelets cannot be frozen and stored for a long period of time, some regions in Japan have faced a shortage of donated platelets in blood banks. iPS cells may become a stable source of platelets for transfusion in the future if a large number of high-quality platelets are generated from human iPS cells.

Eto said that his team will continue to improve the generation method and work to understand the molecular mechanism of generating platelets from megakaryocyte cells.


Platelet Production System Using An Immortalized Megakaryocyte Cell Line Derived From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Sou Nakamura^1*, Naoya Takayama, M.D., Ph.D.^1*, Hiromitsu Nakauchi, MD, PhD^2*
and Koji Eto, M.D., Ph.D.¹

1. Department of Clinical Application Department, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
2. Division of Stem Cell Therapy, Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract: https://ash.confex.com/ash/2011/webprogram/Paper40794.html