Chapter 4: The Role of Catecholamines in Stem Cell Mobilisation

This review will describe some of the more recent advances in our knowledge about the role of catecholamines, including dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine, in hematopoietic stem cell mobilisation. Recent work has also highlighted the role of catecholamines in regulating mesenchymal stem cells during wound angiogenesis and in endothelial progenitor cell mobilisation from bone marrow during tumor vascularization. A role for catecholamines in normal stem cell biology has been described; and catecholamines have also been implicated in cancer stem cell biology. Many pharmacological compounds modulate the bioavailability of catecholamines, by affecting their re-uptake, receptor interactions or metabolism. While this field is still maturing, it is important to view the contribution of catecholamines to stem cell function in terms of homeostasis, physiology and pathology through the lens of catecholamine modulating agents, including those currently in use and those proposed for clinical development.