UW-Madison scientists have transformed embryonic stem cells into a variety of blood cells, which the researchers say could improve drug screening and bone-marrow transplants.

The development, led by scientist Igor Slukvin, was reported recently in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Slukvin and his colleagues coaxed stem cells to become six types of white blood cells and immune cells. The technique worked with stem cells grown from an embryo and with pluripotent stem cells, derived from skin cells reprogrammed back to their embryonic state.

The work could produce large quantities of specific blood cell types to improve safety screening for drugs, Slukvin said. It could eventually reduce rejection problems associated with bone-marrow transplants, he said.

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