Nitric oxide has contrasting age-dependent effects on the functionality of murine hematopoietic stem cells.

The success of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation is dependent on the quality of the donor HSCs. Some sources of HSCs display reduced engraftment efficiency either because of inadequate number (e.g., fetal liver and cord blood), or age-related dysfunction (e.g. in older individuals). Therefore, use of pharmacological compounds to improve functionality of HSCs is a forefront research area in hematology. Lineage negative (Lin We found that SNP treatment of Lin This study demonstrates novel age-dependent contrasting effects of NO on HSC functionality and suggests that HSC age may be an important parameter in screening of various compounds for their use in manipulation of HSCs.