There are hundreds of biomarkers for human HSCs related to sustained hematopoiesis, and it is very difficult to selectively isolate human LT-HSCs from among them.
Therefore, by combining AI technology and in vitro functional experiments, we identify  biomarkers that can purify human LT-HSCs from hundreds of biomarkers of human HSCs for sustained hematopoiesis and succeeded in concentrating  LT-HSCs.
This technology can be applied not only to LT-HSCs but also to various other rare cells’ identification and isolation, and we are developing next-generation rare cell identification and isolation technology by integrating our proprietary technologies. This will be the fundamental technology which accelerates the understanding of many diseases, including precision medicine and rare and intractable diseases, and the development of therapies  in the future. 
Furthermore, we are developing transplantation methods for the following diseases by culturing and amplifying these concentrated LT-HSCs without differentiation even outside of the body using a culture medium developed by our company (click here for details).

NextGeM is also developing gene therapy technology to extract congenitally abnormal hematopoietic stem cells from the body after isolating LT-HSCs and amplifying outside of the body using our proprietary technology, and then introduce the necessary genes into LT-HSCs and transplant back into the patient.

The target disease is expected to be intractable rare diseases in pediatric patients.

In addition, more than 6,000 types of genetic diseases (many of which are intractable rare diseases) have been reported so far. We aim to expand the scope of this technology to a wider range of intractable rare diseases through the development of this technology in the future.

As mentioned above, the number of HSCs that can be obtained from living bodies  is extremely small, so in order for the widespread use of HSCs in the medical field, the cells need to be cultured and amplified outside of the body. However, under in vitro culture conditions, HSCs have the problem of differentiating into various types of blood cells as they proliferate.

Focusing on the fact that amino acids are important factors in the maintenance and amplification of undifferentiated HSCs*,  NextGeM succeeded in developing a culture medium that  amplifies HSCs including LT-HSCs while keeping them undifferentiated by adjusting the formulation. It is possible to maintain a higher percentage of myeloid progenitor cell-derived colonies (CFU-GEMM), which are the most undifferentiated cells at present, compared to conventional cell culture media.

In addition, to reduce the risk of immune reaction after transplantation, we are currently developing a culture medium using plant-derived cell growth factors that do not contain animal serum. (Joint research with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation)