LABORATORY RESEARCH Pten Loss in the Bone Marrow Leads to G-CSF-Mediated HSC Mobilization Pten conditional deletion using MxCre or Scl-CreERT leads to splenomegaly and leukemia formation, which occurs after the relocation of normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from the bone marrow to the spleen. [J Exp Med] Abstract The Zebrafish Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factors (Gcsfs): Two Paralogous Cytokines and Their Roles in Hematopoietic Development and Maintenance In addition to supporting myeloid differentiation, zebrafish Gcsf is required for the specification and proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells, suggesting that Gcsf represents an ancestral cytokine responsible for the broad support of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. [Blood] Abstract | Press Release Poly-L-Lysine Increases the Ex Vivo Expansion and Erythroid Differentiation of Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells, as well as Erythroid Enucleation Efficacy Investigators employed cell culture plates coated with several concentrations of poly-l-lysine (PLL), a positively charged synthetic amino acid chain. Culture substrates that employed relatively high initial coating concentrations of PLL significantly increased the total number of hematopoietic stem cells during ex vivo expansion of CD34+ cells, as well as erythroid differentiation. [Tissue Eng Part A] Abstract Characterizing the Lymphopoietic Kinetics and Features of Hematopoietic Progenitors Contained in the Adult Murine Liver In Vivo Scientists investigated the lymphopoietic capacity of adult liver mononuclear cells and purified liver hematopoietic progenitor cells in vivo. [PLoS One] Full Article CLINICAL RESEARCH Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-Specific Comorbidity Index Predicts Inpatient Mortality and Survival in Patients Who Received Allogeneic Transplantation Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit Researchers investigated the prognostic value of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-Specific Comorbidity Index in patients who received transplantation admitted to the intensive care unit. [J Clin Oncol] Abstract Disabling Immune Tolerance by Programmed Death-1 Blockade with Pidilizumab after Autologous Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Results of an International Phase II Trial The authors conducted an international Phase II study of pidilizumab, an anti-Programmed Death-1 monoclonal antibody, in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, with correlative studies of lymphocyte subsets. [J Clin Oncol] Abstract Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Fanconi Anemia: The EBMT Experience Researchers analyzed results in 795 Fanconi Anemia patients who underwent first hematopoietic stem cell transplantation between May 1972 and January 2010. [Blood] Abstract Positive Impact of Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease on the Outcome of Patients with De Novo Myelodysplastic Syndrome after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Single-Center Analysis of 115 Patients To evaluate the impact of graft-versus-host disease and prognostic factors for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), the authors retrospectively reviewed 115 patients with MDS or acute myeloid leukemia with multilineage dysplasia after allo-HCT at their center. [Eur J Haematol] Abstract |