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(Circulation Research. 2007;101:1.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorials

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Resources and Programs for Cell-Based Therapies

John W. Thomas

From the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Md.

Correspondence to John W. Thomas, PhD, Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Stem Cell and Cell-based Therapy Coordinator, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Rockledge II Centre, Room 10154, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Mail Stop 7950, Bethesda, MD 20892. E-mail ThomasJ@nhlbi.nih.gov

Key Words: cell-based therapies • stem cell research • clinical research • NHLBI regenerative medicine • resources

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Introduction

 
For more than three decades the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has supported research and sponsored programs in basic cell biology and stem cell research. Many NHLBI-funded investigators contributed to the characterization of the hematopoietic stem cell, which has served as a prototype for other stem cell systems. This research has led to successful clinical applications of bone marrow stem cell harvests, umbilical cord blood units, and peripheral blood cell apheresis products for the treatment of genetic and malignant blood diseases, and the evaluation of new hematopoietic cell-based therapies by an NHLBI/NCI-sponsored transplant network.¹

This experience provided the framework for the institute’s current programs and resources for exploring potential application of novel cell-based therapies to a wide array of heart, lung, and blood diseases. This includes more recent clinical testing to determine whether bone marrow cells are useful in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases² and a program beginning in the fall of 2007 for collaborative studies on lung stem cell biology and cell-based therapy.³ This article outlines the programs in stem cell research and cell-based therapies that have led to these new opportunities as well as current research opportunities, available resources, and training programs. Future directions for regenerative medicine at NHLBI will include these strategies and integrate "advances in regenerative biology to develop clinically feasible applications" (Goal 2.1a).⁴

	National Institutes of Health Organizational Approaches

 
NHLBI Cell-based Therapy Group
To promote a coordinated approach to stem cell research leading to cell-based therapies, NHLBI established its own cell-based therapy group in August 2001. The NHLBI group, composed of program officers . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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