Chemotherapy and Hematopoietic Stem Cells

                    Chemotherapy

• means taking certain types of drugs to treat cancero before or after surgeryo taken with radiation treatment

• Chemo drugs seek out rapidly growing cells in the body and kill themo not all cancerous

• Normal cells that grow quickly:o stomach and intestineso skin and moutho cells that grow hairo bone marrow

                      Chemo Video

Chemotherapy and the Body

                    Bone Marrow

• found in inner part of some bones• produces all of our blood

o red blood cellso white blood cellso platelets

• Chemo most directly effects Hematopoietic cellso stem cells in bone marrow responsible for making red and

white blood cells, and platelets

                Hematopoietic Stem Cells

• Defined by their:o multipotency - ability to

form multiple cell typeso ability to self-renew

• Death of cells causes:o bruise and bleed easilyo higher risk of infection

• Current solutiono removal of some stem

cells from patient's peripheral (circulating) blood or marrow

        Mater Medical Research Institute

• DNA Methylation o responsible for which genes are transcribed and which

are blocked• Dnmt 1

o enzyme arranged to only be produced in small amounts survived with potential of self-renewal

o enzyme was completely removed from mice eventually died because cell functions stopped

o stem cells can later be woken to make new blood and immune cells

                        Citations

• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006102635.htm -http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_2X_Chemotherapy_What_It_Is_How_It_Helps.asp

• http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_2X_Chemotherapy_What_It_Is_How_It_Helps.asp

• http://www.mmri.mater.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=113

• http://www.cancercenter.com/video/cancer-types/medanim/chemotherapy.cfm