«Because
the hematopoetic stem cell niche is so important for the creation of bone marrow and blood cells and because Del - 1 is a soluble protein and is easily manipulated, one can see that it could be a target in many potential applications,» said George Hajishengallis, the Thomas W. Evans Centennial Professor in the Department of Microbiology in Penn's School of Dental Medicine and a senior author on the work.