Chapter 1

Stem Cells in Hematopoietic Processes and Therapy Tools

Siqi Chen, Qiang Huang, Qing Li, Yawei Liu and Zhong Wang

Abstract

The discovery of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) ushered in a new era in stem cell and life science research. Much of the technology and knowledge that has been gained through HSC studies is now applied in many fields of biology and has fundamentally changed our understanding of stem cells. For example, cell identification and purification using cell surface markers, which were developed and fine-tuned in HSC studies, are now routinely used to investigate the developmental stages of different cell populations not only in hematopoiesis but also in the development of other organs and in tumor biology. The therapeutic benefits of HSCs have long been recognized as bone marrow transplants have saved many lives, and with an increasing understanding of HSC biology and its translation to the clinic, studies of HSCs will continue to benefit the health of humans and our curiosity of life in general. In this chapter, we will briefly describe the discovery, regulation, and therapeutic application of HSCs. We apologize that many studies are not included here due to the nature of this review.

Total Pages: 3-36 (34)

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