Investigating the interactions between haemopoietic stem cells and their niche: methods for the analysis of stem cell homing and distribution within the marrow following transplantation.

Interactions between haemopoietic stem cells (HSC) and their microenvironment serve multiple functions including the attraction to and retention and regulation in the bone marrow HSC niche. However, the cell adhesion molecules involved, their HSC receptors and the mechanisms underpinning these processes remain poorly understood. An ability to thoroughly investigate the roles of specific molecules in this process relies on a variety of in vitro and in vivo assays including the assessment of a HSC ability to home to the bone marrow and analysis of its lodgement within the bone marrow.