2. Academic Validation
  3. Ferumoxytol promotes haematopoietic stem cell post-injury regeneration as a reactive oxygen species scavenger

Ferumoxytol promotes haematopoietic stem cell post-injury regeneration as a reactive oxygen species scavenger

  • Nat Nanotechnol. 2025 Jul;20(7):959-969. doi: 10.1038/s41565-025-01907-2.
Qiwei Wang # 1 2 3,  Wenchang Qian # 1 2 3,  Yingli Han # 1 2 3,  Yu Mao 4,  Zhenyue Gao 5,  Yuxuan Chen 6,  Xin Zeng 1 2 3,  Huan Lu 1 2 3,  Lingli Jiang 1 2 3,  Jinxin Li 1 2 3,  Ning Gu 7 8,  Pengxu Qian 9 10 11
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Bone Marrow Transplantation Center of the First Affiliated Hospital & Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Hangzhou, China.
  • 2 Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
  • 3 Institute of Hematology, Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Engineering Laboratory for Stem Cell and Immunotherapy, Hangzhou, China.
  • 4 Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China.
  • 5 Chia-tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group (CTTQ Pharma) Co., Ltd., Nanjing, China.
  • 6 College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
  • 7 Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China. guning@nju.edu.cn.
  • 8 Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. guning@nju.edu.cn.
  • 9 Bone Marrow Transplantation Center of the First Affiliated Hospital & Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Hangzhou, China. axu@zju.edu.cn.
  • 10 Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. axu@zju.edu.cn.
  • 11 Institute of Hematology, Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Engineering Laboratory for Stem Cell and Immunotherapy, Hangzhou, China. axu@zju.edu.cn.
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 40269251 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-01907-2
Abstract

Under stress conditions, such as ex vivo culture, chemotherapy, irradiation and Infection, haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) actively divide to maintain blood cell production. This process leads to production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) that causes HSC exhaustion and haematopoietic failure. Here we show that ferumoxytol (FMT; Feraheme), a Food and Drug Administration-approved nanodrug, is a powerful ROS scavenger capable of relieving ROS in stressed HSCs, facilitating their post-injury regeneration. Mechanistically, the catalase-like activity of FMT reduces intracellular levels of H2O2 and diminishes H2O2-induced cytotoxicity. Moreover, FMT maintains long-term regenerative capacity of transplanted HSCs in pre-conditioned leukaemic mice and shows potential to effectively eliminate leukaemia in vivo while preserving HSCs. Our study highlights FMT as a powerful clinical tool to promote haematopoietic cell recovery in patients undergoing stress-generating treatments.

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