Circulating stem cells add roaming immunity

Circulating stem cells from bone marrow recognize tissues in distress and stimulate an linkurl:innate immune response,;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/53407/ according to findings published today in linkurl:__Cell__.;http://www.cell.com/ The researchers identified new pathways for these circulating hematopoietic cells, and propose that their travels contribute additional immune cells to tissues experiencing damage or infection. "Stem cells are much more adventurous in a way than one would have expected previously," linkurl:Ulrich von Andrian;http://www.cbrinstitute.org/labs/vonandrian of Harvard University, an author of the study, told __The Scientist__. "They are constantly on the move, migrating through perhaps most tissues in the body looking for the presence of infectious agents or tissue damage." Scientists were aware that hematopoietic stem cells could circulate around the body, but were unclear about the extent of their travels. linkurl:Paul Kincade;http://www.omrf.ouhsc.edu/OMRF/Research/14/KincadePLay.asp at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, who did not participate in the study but wrote an editorial on the paper, said people had thought these cells...