title: Embryonic origin of the adult hematopoietic system: advances and questions.
abstract: Definitive hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) lie at the foundation of the adult hematopoietic system and provide an organism throughout its life with all blood cell types. Several tissues demonstrate hematopoietic activity at early stages of embryonic development, but which tissue is the primary source of these important cells and what are the early embryonic ancestors of definitive HSCs? Here, we review recent advances in the field of HSC research that have shed light on such questions, while setting them into a historical context, and discuss key issues currently circulating in this field.
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Stem Cell Research, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JQ, UK. a.medvinsky@ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Medvinsky
authors.forename: Stanislav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rybtsov
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taoudi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D033041:Embryo Research; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology*; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000502:physiology; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D006413:Hematopoietic System / Q000196:embryology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological