Head of the laboratory- Nina I. Drize, Doctor of Biological Sciences
The history and operation of the Laboratory of Hematopoiesis Physiology is associated with the name of Iosif L. Chertkov (1927-2009). His main area of interest was the organization of the hematopoietic system, giving rise to the laboratory’s name.
Under the leadership of I.L. Chertkov, a series of priority works “Hematopoietic Stem and Mesenchymal Cells” were published in the laboratory. A great contribution was made to the study of the clonality of hematopoiesis. In particular, it was found that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have a high, but not unlimited, proliferative potential; they are not immortal and cannot "self-sustain.” HSC formation occurs only in embryogenesis; during life, these cells are sequentially consumed, forming short-lived, locally situated, successive cell clones, similar to how it happens in the ovary.
I.L. Chertkov and laboratory staff showed that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the progenitors of the hematopoietic microenvironment, differ from HSCs in radiosensitivity. During intravenous bone marrow transplantation, MSCs are lost in the form of a cell suspension - they are not able to penetrate into the microregions where they function, even if the bone marrow suspension is injected into the bone. MSCs are capable of transferring the hematopoietic microenvironment only when transplanted under the skin or kidney capsule as a single bone marrow fragment, without turning it into a unicellular suspension.
In the works of I.L. Chertkov, the physiological characteristics of MSCs and fundamental data on the clonal kinetics of HSCs were obtained for the first time. The data obtained have been confirmed in world practice. I.L. Chertkov published 4 monographs and more than 250 articles in domestic and foreign journals.
Under the leadership of I. L. Chertkov, the first domestic monoclonal antibodies for typing blood groups were obtained in the laboratory. In 1986-1987, All-Union tests of anti-A and anti-B specific antibodies were carried out. Subsequently, the antibodies were certified for determining blood groups in Russia. Currently, 24 antibodies to various erythrocyte antigens have been obtained and certified.
Currently, the laboratory consists of 6 researchers (2 doctors and 3 candidates of sciences), 3 leading specialists, an engineer, a senior laboratory assistant and a laboratory assistant.
The laboratory is conducting research on the physiology of hematopoiesis. Currently, the laboratory is focusing on the study of MSCs and multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MMSCs) in humans from the point of view of their functions regulating the maintenance of hematopoiesis and the study of the structure of the hierarchical tree of MSCs.
One of the most relevant topics of modern medicine is the creation of cellular technologies for clinical use. The study of the basic properties of MMSCs has allowed for the creation of a protocol for their growth in culture and subsequent use in therapeutic practice, which is based on the use of one of the most important features of MMSCs – the ability to modulate the immune response. Under the leadership of V.G. Savchenko in the department of High-dose Chemotherapy and Bone Marrow Transplantation, it was shown that MMSCs of healthy donors grown in vitro without the use of animal components can be used for the prevention and treatment of acute graft-versus-host reaction. This notion continues to be developed upon.
It was also demonstrated that MMSCs and their descendants – colony forming unit fibroblastic (CFU-Fs) - are sensitive to the action of chemotherapeutic drugs and are not able to fully recover for a long time after their use. Such studies are of great importance for understanding the state of the hematopoietic system in patients with hematological diseases.
The study of the ability of MMSCs to proliferate and differentiate allowed the laboratory to begin research on the possibility of using these cells for the treatment of critical defects in bone and cartilage tissue. An animal model was developed and the first experiments were carried out on the use of MMSCs marked with the help of lentivectors to restore defects of condyles and radial bones in rabbits. It was shown that marked MMSCs are detected in the restored bone tissue one year after implantation. The laboratory is currently process of selecting adequate carriers for joint use with MMSC.
Currently, the laboratory is conducting research to study changes in the stromal microenvironment of the bone marrow in hemoblastosis and aplastic anemia.
The Russian Foundation for Basic Research supported 27 scientific projects submitted by the laboratory staff. Two projects were supported by the Russian Science Foundation. The laboratory staff has published 46 scientific papers in domestic and foreign publications over the past 5 years.
SCIENTIFIC STAFF
Irina N. Shipunova — Senior Researcher, Doctor of Biological Sciences (2019)
Shipunova graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Lomonosov Moscow State University (2000) with a degree in cell biology.
She specializes in the field of physiology of hematopoiesis. Currently, Shipunova is engaged in the study of stromal microenvironment of patients with aplastic anemia.
Author of 158 scientific publications, head of RFBR projects
Natalia A. Petinati — Senior Researcher, Candidate of Medical Sciences (2013)
Petinati graduated from the medical faculty of MMA named after I. M. Sechenov (2007).
She has been working at the NMRC for Hematology since 2007
Petinati specializes in the field of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells in patients with leukemia.
She is the author of 136 scientific publications and a project manager of RFBR and RGNF.
Natalya V. Sats — Senior Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences (1992)
Sats graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University (1981).
She has been working at the NMRC for Hematology since 1981
Research interests: complementary-targeted mutagenesis. Sats defended her thesis on the topic: “Obtaining polyalkylating derivatives of DNA fragments E1 of the SA7 oncogene and their interaction with DNA targets and cells. Physiology of hematopoiesis - the study of populations of multipotent and stem cells using markers integrated into the genome.” She specializes in the field of molecular biology.
She is the author of 95 scientific publications.
Maxim A. Ershler — Senior Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences (1996)
Ershler graduated from the Faculty of Physical and Chemical Biology of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1990).
1990-1992- Ershler worked as an intern at the Institute of Molecular Biology of the Academy of Sciences, 1992-1996- junior researcher at the Institute of Molecular Biology, 1994-1995 - intern at the New York Blood Center (NYBC), USA, 1996-2000 - Researcher, then Senior Researcher at the New York Blood Center (NYBC), USA, in 2000 — consultant, Hematologist LLC.
He has been working at the NMRC for Hematology since 2001 as a researcher, then as a senior researcher.
While working at the Institute of Molecular Biology under the guidance of A. V. Belyavsky, Ershler was engaged in cloning genes specific for mouse blood stem cells. One such gene (VNK) is the subject of a Ph.D. thesis. While working at the New York Blood Center under Prof. J. Visser, he studied the effect of the TSC22 gene on hematopoiesis, creating a mouse that was knocked out by this gene.
From 2000 to 2005, he studied the functioning of a long-term culture of mouse bone marrow deficient in tumor necrosis factor and the clonal repertoire of hematopoiesis restored by labeled stem cells at the NMRC for Hematology in the Laboratory of Hematopoiesis Physiology. Since 2006, he has been working on recombinant monoclonal antibodies (MCA), MCA production, and MCA glycosylation.
He is the author of 30 scientific publications.
Alyona I. Dorofeeva — researcher
Dorofeeva graduated from the Faculty of Biology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (2011) with a degree in biochemistry.
She specializes in the field of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells in patients with aplastic anemia.
She is the author of 13 scientific publications.
