The Genetic Program of Hematopoietic Stem Cells

TLDR

Blood cell production originates from a rare population of multipotent, self‑renewing stem cells. The study performed a genome‑wide gene expression analysis to define regulatory pathways and the global genetic program of hematopoietic stem cells. The authors used subtracted cDNA libraries from purified murine fetal liver stem cells and analyzed them with bioinformatic and array hybridization strategies. The analysis identified thousands of previously undescribed gene products with regulatory properties, and the resulting data, housed in a biological process‑oriented database, delineate the molecular phenotype of hematopoietic stem cells.

Abstract

Blood cell production originates from a rare population of multipotent, self-renewing stem cells. A genome-wide gene expression analysis was performed in order to define regulatory pathways in stem cells as well as their global genetic program. Subtracted complementary DNA libraries from highly purified murine fetal liver stem cells were analyzed with bioinformatic and array hybridization strategies. A large percentage of the several thousand gene products that have been characterized correspond to previously undescribed molecules with properties suggestive of regulatory functions. The complete data, available in a biological process-oriented database, represent the molecular phenotype of the hematopoietic stem cell.