How do cells know where to go during a Stem Cell / Bone Marrow transplant?

Question

Once the cells enter the bloodstream how exaclty do they end up in the bone marrow?

Please provide a source if possible.

Answer 1

This is a great question. I don't know the answer, but was under the impression that what you are transplanting "matches" what needs to be replaced.

Answer 2

Good question...if only the answer were a simple one! Cells are highly specialized structures, meaning that each one has a particular job. The only way that the cell "knows" its job is because of shape and because they are made to know. Red blood cells, a component of blood, are made in bone marrow, so when they are injected into the bloodstream, they naturally go to the marrow. Nerve, skin, brain and all other cells are shaped differently, and thus go to their respective places in the body. I hate to say it this way, but the cells just "know" where to go because that's the way they are made. I know this doesn't help much, but that's part of the wonder of life. Think about this--how can one cell joined by another become a living breathing creature? It's really an amazing thing!

Answer 3

I am amazed at some of the answers you have received.

the_only_sol... answered your question with an accurate..short answer. In TRANSPLANTS, cells are "placed", they aren't injected into the blood stream to float around aimlessly. Like in gradening, when you "transplant" somehthing you take it from one place and specifically place it in another. The cells don't need to know "where to go".

Bone marrow cells are already "programed" and are Bone marrow cells and nothing but Bone Marrow cells. The question in many peoples minds is how Stem Cells which haven't been "programed" yet "change into" or "become" the desired cell. You WOULD have to do a more extensive search on this.

If you want to know more about "Stem Cell Transplants" or "Bone Marrow Transplants":

Do a Search on the internet for subjests like: "Stem Cells", Stem Cell Research", "Transplant Surgery", "Stem Cell Transplants", "Bone Marrow Transplants"

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Every cell and chemical created by our body performs a particular function or task.
Stem cells can become any cell so they go where the body needs. The chemical balance tells the stem cells where the body needs support and other chemicals tell the stem cells what kind of cell to turn into.
Bone marrow cells make blood cells. Transplanted bone marrow can only provide one function so they got to the only site in the body where they can perform this function.

Answer 5

COOL question. MY son had a cord blood transplant (from his brother) 2 years ago. Its really a very complicated situation. Not only do the cells go into the bone and start creating all the different blood/marrow cells, but they also go to other areas that may have been damaged in the radiation and chemo process. The stem cells are amazing.!!!!!!!!

Answer 6

Bone marrow is taken from the donor in the operating room while the patient is unconscious and pain-free (under general anesthesia). Some of the donor's bone marrow is removed from the top of the hip bone. The bone marrow is filtered, treated, and transplanted immediately or frozen and stored for later use. Then, transplant material is transfused into the patient through a vein (IV line) and is naturally transported back into the bone cavities where it grows to replace the old bone marrow.
Please see the webpages for more details on Bone marrow transplant.

Answer 7

Mortality depends on the chemos given. From what I read when going through it, it was 5-7%- mostly from infections developed once the chemo wiped out the immune system. I think you should really get a description from the transplant doctor or nurse- way better than the internet. You dont say whether its an autogenic (one's own cells) or allogenic (someone elses cells). Autogenic is often safer because allogenic you have to worry about graft vs. host disease (GVHD) which can be very very dicey and often fatal. So I'd ask my doctor about % who get GVHD. Make sure the transplant is done at a top transplant center. Many smaller local hospitals do them and they shouldn't because they dont have the experience to treat the side effects and complications and infections that are rare and scary. You want a hospital with a dedicated transplant unit. Other than making sure all of that, the most painful part is not the upfront chemo, but the resulting mucousitus which often requires a pca pain pump to manage pain. The mucousitus often leads to problems breathing, eating, digesting and a host of infections. This all gets better after the cells engraft. Took a year after to get appetite back tho and still working on the physical recovery almost 2 years later. Brutal, but want to know a good side effect of all of it? LIFE!!!! UPDATE- The other post is not accurate- not everyone has total body irradiation. That is specific to leukemia and does not usually apply to solid tumors. Most solid tumors like rhabdo have a cocktail of chemos for each transplant. Some placess to TBI but many do different chemo. From what I know of Rhabdo, you would have upfront chemo of a few rounds, tumor resection, maybe another round of chemo, then transplant. With solid tumors, the goal is to have minimal (ideally no) evidence of disease before going into transplant. That improves survival/cure rates dramatically. I don't know about relapsed rhabdo. I dont believe it is very good as with most pediatric cancers- you have do everything possible upfront to make sure it doesn't come back. I would ask the oncologists about relapsed rhabdo/cures. do they usually resect the tumor before doing a BMT? YES - see above and how long would you have to wait before performing a second BMT if the first doesn't work? depends on the treatment plan. Some solid tumors they do tandem transplants- one right after the other each with a different combo of chemo and radiation. .. Question for your oncologist.

Answer 8

A stem cell is just a replicator, it replicates the cells it is closest to. For instance: a stem cell from a fetus is used to regrow bone marrow in (for example) a leukemia patient. This cell is then injected (bone marrow donated or just cell stems) and enters into the area of the body that needs the "support." This cell then inhabits the area and (ideally) replicates itself into more bone marrow cells and helps said patient heal. These cells must, of course, be acceptable to the host; as rejection is a horrible outcome/waste for all involved. This means that the donor must be of similar blood type to the patient or else rejection of bone marrow or stem cells could cause further complications to a procedure...

Answer 9

Cells don't go into the bone marrow, they leave from the bone marrow, unless it's macrophages and immune cells.

Cells know where to go because they have receptors. Chemiotactism or just physical "lock-and-key" like structures that make them stick where they are needed.

You can look in the book: The molecular biology of the Cell. Or any immunology handbook like Revillard's Immunology.

Answer 10

I can understand where you are coming from. The cells dont swim towards the bone marrow and dont have some kind of a homing device in them. They travel with the blood and flow to the Bone Marrow. Usually they aree injected closer to where they need to be and going to wards the heart. Or they may be aided by drugs as well.

Answer 11

Think of it like this... If you have two cells in the body, and one is a blood cell and one is a brain cell, they both know their function because they hang out with others of their kind. So when the marrow cells go into the blood stream, it seeks out other marrow cells.