Normal Hematopoetic Stem and Progenitor Cells Can Exhibit Metabolic Flexibility Similar to Cancer Cells.

It is known that cancer stem cells (CSCs) with the largest proliferative capacity survive the anoxic and/or ischemic conditions present inside tumorous tissue. In this study we test whether normal stem cells can survive under the same conditions due to cancer cell-like metabolic adaptations. We cultivated a CD34 population with a majority of hematopoietic progenitors, and a CD34CD38CD133CD90CD45RA population, highly enriched in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), under anoxic, anoxic/aglycemic ("ischemia-like"), or physiological conditions (3% O).