Haematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are routinely used
today in clinical haematology to treat leukaemia and
recent findings offer further possibilities of using
them in other fields of medicine. Before of this type
of application, however, it is very important to
precisely reveal their characteristics and genetic
programs. To understand the properties of the adult
HSCs it is important to know from where they come
from in the embryo. One of the useful models to
investigate these processes is the avian embryo.
Pioneer experiments on bird embryos demonstrated that
haematopoietic stem cells, which ensure the needs of
the adult blood system in the bone marrow, are not
derived from the yolk sac but have an intraembryonic
source. The accessibility of avian embryos to
manipulation provide the possibility to study
cellular migrations and interactions. In addition,
the growing number of chicken genetic databases
raises the possibility of revealing the regulatory
mechanisms of these processes. The work presented in
this book revealed some important new findings
concerning the different genetic programs governing
early haematopoietic differentiation.
today in clinical haematology to treat leukaemia and
recent findings offer further possibilities of using
them in other fields of medicine. Before of this type
of application, however, it is very important to
precisely reveal their characteristics and genetic
programs. To understand the properties of the adult
HSCs it is important to know from where they come
from in the embryo. One of the useful models to
investigate these processes is the avian embryo.
Pioneer experiments on bird embryos demonstrated that
haematopoietic stem cells, which ensure the needs of
the adult blood system in the bone marrow, are not
derived from the yolk sac but have an intraembryonic
source. The accessibility of avian embryos to
manipulation provide the possibility to study
cellular migrations and interactions. In addition,
the growing number of chicken genetic databases
raises the possibility of revealing the regulatory
mechanisms of these processes. The work presented in
this book revealed some important new findings
concerning the different genetic programs governing
early haematopoietic differentiation.