Potential for Bone Marrow Stem Cells

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There are different kinds of stem cells. One of the types of stem cells that is making it's way into the news these days are those that belong to bone marrow. While it was generally believed that bone marrow stem cells pretty much stuck to their location, it has been discovered that bone marrow stem cells can migrate to other areas of the body through the blood or lymph systems. Bone marrow stem cells help to promote a constant replenishment of blood cells. What good is this? Think of an infection. When you have an infection, your body's immune system sends white blood cells to fight that bacteria or virus that is causing the infection. If the infection goes on long enough, those white blood cells will deplete in number. However, bone marrow stem cells have the ability to migrate to the area of infection, and differentiate, or multiply, in that area.
According to a recent study, researchers at Harvard Medical School have found that bone marrow stem cells can have a very direct impact on overall body health and immunity. Since they proved that stem cells that originate in bone marrow could travel through the blood system and enter vital organs, they are more able to search for invaders, bacteria, and viruses and attack them, and aiding white blood cells in their job. Because stem cells are capable of immediately dividing and maturing, and producing new immune system cells, the impact of such a discovery is exciting and holds great potential in therapy and treatment options.

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