The biology of hematopoietic stem cells

Rarely has so much interest from the lay public, government, biotechnology industry, and special interest groups been focused on the biology and clinical applications of a single type of human cell as is today on stem cells, the founder cells that sustain many, if not all, tissues and organs in the body. Granting organizations have increasingly targeted stem cells as high priority for funding, and it appears clear that the evolving field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine will require as its underpinning a thorough understanding of the molecular regulation of stem cell proliferation, differentiation, self-renewal, and aging. Despite evidence suggesting that embryonic stem (ES) cells might represent a more potent regenerative reservoir than stem cells collected from adult tissues, ethical considerations have redirected attention upon primitive cells residing in the bone marrow, blood, brain, liver, muscle, and skin, from where they can be harvested with relative sociological impunity. Among these, it is arguably the stem and progenitor cells of the mammalian hematopoietic system that we know most about today, and their intense study in rodents and humans over the past 50 years has culminated in the identification of phenotypic and molecular genetic markers of lineage commitment and the development of functional assays that facilitate their quantitation and prospective isolation. This review focuses exclusively on the biology of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and their immediate progeny. Nevertheless, many of the concepts established from their study can be considered fundamental tenets of an evolving stem cell paradigm applicable to many regenerating cellular systems.