Open AccessUse of the Zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) to Define Hematopoiesis
Author(s) -
Bahary Nathan,
Zon Leonard I.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1002/stem.160089
Subject(s) - biology , zebrafish , danio , hemangioblast , mesoderm , haematopoiesis , stem cell , progenitor cell , microbiology and biotechnology , vertebrate , hematopoietic stem cell , bone marrow , genetics , paraxial mesoderm , gene , immunology , embryonic stem cell
Hematopoiesis in the vertebrate is characterized by the induction of ventral mesoderm to form hematopoietic stem cells and the eventual differentiation of these progenitors to form the peripheral blood lineages. Several genes have been implicated in the differentiation and development of hematopoietic and vascular progenitor cells, yet our understanding of the discrete steps involved in the induction of these cells from the ventral mesoderm is still incomplete. One method of delineating these processes is based on the use of lower vertebrates. The zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) is an especially robust vertebrate system for both isolating and characterizing genes involved in these processes. Hematopoietic mutants have been generated with defects in many of the steps of both the primitive and definitive hematopoietic programs. Cloning of the genes that underlie these mutations should yield valuable details of hematopoiesis and may have therapeutic implications for bone marrow transplantation and stem cell gene therapy.