Transient apoptosis inhibition in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells of donors increases efficacy of stem cell transplantation without increasing the risk of leukemogenesis

Introduction: The only curative treatment for many hematological disorders is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) which unfortunately bears different transplantation-associated risks like graft failure or graft-versus-host disease. Since it is known that higher donor cell numbers accelerate the engraftment and lower the risk of graft failure, many experimental approaches aim to expand donor cell numbers ex vivo. However, these approaches largely failed due to differentiation of stem cells. Methods: Our aim is therefore to assess, whether apoptosis inhibition during HSCT is able to increase its efficac…