blood system

Tumors use the body's blood system for their own purposes: They stimulate the growth of blood vessels that supply the tumor.

Medical treatment blocks this process in order to restrain tumors. Scientists have now developed a method for producing a complex human vascular system in mice.

A novel mechanism that can enhance the function of a protein that is frequently impaired in patients with acute forms of leukemia.

The protein, called AML1, plays a critical role in the development of the blood system and in the production of platelets and immune cells.

A gene that "wakes up" the blood system's stem cells in times of stress also plays an important role in protecting against infection, said researchers in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Researchers note that it makes sense that a serious infection with a pathogen or disease-causing organism could require that stem cells rally to generate new blood cells to fight against the invading organisms.