Geiger Laboratory Research Interests
Blood cells are responsible for constant oxygen supply, broad and specialized immune protection, wound healing, and much more of which we might not be aware. This workload for which blood cells are responsible requires that the hematopoietic system producing these cells has, besides skin tissue, the highest turnover and self-renewal rate of any adult tissue. Mature blood cells are generated from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a process called hematopoiesis. HSCs share the common hallmarks of all stem cells:
- HSCs can self-renew (can reproduce daughter cells, at least one of which is identical to the parent itself), and
- HSCs give rise to different kinds of mature blood cells (multi-lineage differentiation).
50 years of research on the hematopoietic system have resulted in HSCs and hematopoiesis being the best studied stem cell system with routine clinical applications such as HSC transplantation. However, there are important question in hematopoietic stem cell biology that remain unanswered.
Research in the Geiger Laboratory at Cincinnati Children's Hospital focuses on:
DNA repair in the hematopoietic system
Research in the Geiger laboratory points toward a connection between the ability to protect the integrity of DNA in stem cells and longevity. Unfortunately, little is known about the connection of DNA repair proteins and mutagenesis in hematopoietic stem cells and in the hematopoietic compartment.
Mobilization of Hematopoietic Stem Cells/ Stem Cell Trafficking
Hematopoietic stem cells reside in adults in the bone marrow, but they are able to migrate into the blood and even into other non-hematopoietic tissues such as the muscle and the heart. This feature is very important for current clinical stem cell use and will perhaps play a more important role in the near future. What are the mechanisms that allow HSCs to travel?
Related Readings
Published in July 2001, Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions is a report providing information on the opportunities and challenges of future stem cell applications. Chapter 5, Hematopoietic Stem Cells, provides an excellent background for Dr. Geiger's research.
Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions.
Department of Health and Human Services. June 2001.
Contact Us
For further information regarding Dr. Geiger's research, please contact Dr. Hartmut Geiger at 513-636-1338. For additional information about the Division of Experimental Hematology, please contact Dr. David Williams at 513-636-0364. The Division of Experimental Hematology can be found in Room 6529 of Location R (Research Foundation Building).
