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Chapter category: Stem Cells
Cell-Line Models of Hematopoiesis
Chapter authors:
Marcelo Pasquini and Schickwann Tsai
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Hematopoietic stem cells are distinguished by their ability to self-renew and differenti-
ate into all hematopoietic lineages. The molecular mechanisms controlling these pro
cesses remain largely unknown. The identification and characterization of genes
involved in self-renewal and lineage-restricted differentiation represent perhaps the greatest challenges in stem cell biology. Progress in this area is handicapped by the paucity of
hematopoietic stem cells and the lack of an effective culture system to maintain or amplify the relatively small numbers of purified hematopoietic stem cells in vitro for rigorous biochemical analyses. Therefore, cell lines that have preserved part of the control mechanisms of normal hematopoietic stem cells or progenitors are potentially useful model systems for the identification and characterization of genes that are involved in self-renewal or lineage-restricted differentiation. The validity of findings made in cell-line models of hematopoiesis should then be verified using normal hematopoietic stem cells or progenitors. This chapter will summarize the unique properties of a stem cell factor (c-kit ligand)-dependent, multipotent hematopoietic cell line, EML C1, and a complementary cell line, MPRO, as well as several related cell-line models of hematopoiesis. Examples will be given on how the combination of carefully chosen cell-line models and new technology may provide answers to important questions in stem cell biology.
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