Rebuilding the Immune System

"Rebuild the immune system?" Wang Wei looked utterly bewildered.

"Do you know what the most effective clinical treatment for leukemia is right now?" Chen Chen asked in return.

"Uh, I haven't really paid attention to that. That should fall under biomedical knowledge, right?" Wang Wei scratched his head.

"Simply put, leukemia is a type of disease involving lesions in Hematopoietic Stem Cells. For some reason, the body's Hematopoietic Stem Cells undergo malignant proliferation, suppressing normal blood-forming functions. The principle is similar to cancer, which is why it's also called 'blood cancer.'"

Chen Chen explained, "And currently, the most effective treatment for leukemia is to perform bone marrow matching, select a volunteer whose genes are most compatible with the patient's, and then have the patient undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy to kill the Hematopoietic Stem Cells in their bone marrow."

"Next, the volunteer is injected with a drug called a 'Mobilizing Agent,' which promotes the mass growth of Hematopoietic Stem Cells in the bone marrow and releases them into the bloodstream. The hospital then collects those stem cells and injects them into the patient."

"Since the patient's Hematopoietic Stem Cells have already been killed, vacant niches are left in their body. The newly injected Hematopoietic Stem Cells produce an effect called Homing, spontaneously entering the patient's bone marrow and rebuilding their immune system within one to two months."

Chen Chen concluded, "This is called a bone marrow transplant—replacing the patient's diseased stem cells with a volunteer's healthy Hematopoietic Stem Cells. In fact, so-called bone marrow transplants aren't really transplants of bone marrow at all, but simply Hematopoietic Stem Cell transplants."

"What does that have to do with your experiment?" Xia Yin asked impatiently.

"My third experiment is to select a batch of frail, elderly rats, clone them, and then extract young Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Mesenchymal Stem Cells from the clones."

"Then, just as in leukemia treatment, I'll kill the rats' Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Mesenchymal Stem Cells and replace them with stem cells from their clones."

Chen Chen pondered, "If it succeeds, would those rats, originally decrepit and near the end of their lives, become young again?"

"Th-that should be impossible, right?" Xia Yin looked stunned.

"Why would it be impossible?"

The corner of Chen Chen's mouth curved upward. "Mesenchymal Stem Cells have the ability to differentiate into many types of cells, including Muscle Cells, liver cells, Osteoblasts, Adipocytes, Chondrocytes, and Stromal Cells."

"Why do human bodies age? Because the functions of human muscles, bones, and internal organs deteriorate. But why do those muscles, bones, and internal organs deteriorate? It stems from the aging of stem cells."

"A young person's stem cells can continually replicate, replacing aging muscle cells, bone cells, and internal organ cells. That is why young people's metabolism is far faster than that of adults. But once humans pass the age of thirty, their stem cells begin to age. The speed at which they replicate and replace cells gradually fails to keep up with the cells' own rate of aging, and signs of aging begin to appear in the body..."

Chen Chen said, "So, if the body's Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Hematopoietic Stem Cells could return to youth, couldn't the human body return to youth as well? Even if the other internal organs couldn't be restored to youth, simply restoring functions such as muscles, bones, and blood formation to a younger state would be something many people could only dream of, wouldn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Yin immediately looked thoughtful. After all, she was already a senior, with a broader knowledge base than Wang Wei, and she understood better than he did what kind of impact this experiment would have on modern medicine if it succeeded.

"If it really succeeds, the results would be enough to get published in a top-tier journal." Xia Yin's eyes shone with anticipation.

"I've already contacted Meng'an Pharmaceutical Company. They can use their channels to help us purchase experimental drugs. I asked about the prices—they're absolutely fair and reasonable."

Chen Chen added, "We can start the experiment today."

"Then let's get going now." Xia Yin agreed. "If we start early, maybe we really can finish the experiment within three months!"

The three of them immediately set off and took a ride to Meng'an Pharmaceutical Company's building, where the Mediterranean Man who had previously shown Chen Chen and Xia Yin around had been waiting for some time.

After only a few days apart, the Mediterranean atop the Mediterranean Man's head seemed to have grown even broader.

"You're finally here. If you'd come any later, the bosses would've chewed me out."

The Mediterranean Man smiled bitterly. "I never should have agreed to your condition that the rental period wouldn't start until after winter break. We ended up losing more than a week for nothing."

"Have you bought everything?"

"Yes. The Head-mounted Experiment Recorders and all kinds of experimental drugs have been purchased and moved to the fifth floor for you."

The Mediterranean Man took out three magnetic cards and handed them to Chen Chen. "These are laboratory access cards. We'll send someone to inspect the laboratory once a month from now on. Any damage must be compensated at full price. We hope you'll take good care of our experimental equipment and not contaminate the experimental environment."

"Of course." Chen Chen accepted the cards.

"And this." The other man took out another business card. "This is the supply contact for our laboratory. If you need experimental drugs or experimental animals, you can call this number to purchase them."

Chen Chen took the card. Seeing that it belonged to someone from the Shangdu Animal Experiment Research Center, he casually handed it to Xia Yin.

Since all the agreements had already been signed, the Mediterranean Man took his leave after bringing the three of them to the fifth floor.

"The entire floor is the laboratory you rented?"

The moment Wang Wei reached the fifth floor, he began wandering around everywhere, touching this and that with curiosity written all over his face. "Isn't this way too extravagant? The environment is even better than the school's laboratories. By the way, where do you enter the GMP Laboratory? Why don't I see an entrance?"

"It's inside the Basic Laboratory."

Chen Chen changed into disposable slippers and entered the Basic Laboratory. "That Blue Alloy Door ahead is the entrance. There are also two partitioned rooms behind the Basic Laboratory. I had them buy three beds and put them in there, so we can use them as a lounge."

The other two followed him inside and indeed found a huge pile of supplies in the Basic Laboratory, including three folding beds.

There were also various sealed chemical reagents. Getting those supplies into the Clean Area would probably keep the three of them busy for quite a while.

As students of the School of Life Sciences, none of them was entering a sterile laboratory for the first time, and they all knew the relevant procedures. Wang Wei was responsible for moving the drugs into the Buffer Corridor, Xia Yin was responsible for placing them into the Transfer Window, and Chen Chen was stationed inside the GMP Laboratory to receive them.

Once the three got busy, they were able to divide up the work and handle their respective tasks in an orderly fashion.

But before long, the elevator doors opened again, and someone pushed in a cart full of sterile boxes.

"Are these the SPF grade experimental animals you ordered?"

"Yes." Wang Wei was responsible for passing supplies from outside, so he immediately notified Xia Yin to come out, inspect the experimental animals, and sign for them.

The animals consisted of sixty SD rats and ten Domestic Rabbits for experimentation. After a simple handover, the two of them settled the animals into the Animal Housing Room.