title: HSPCs get their motors running for asymmetric fate choice.
abstract: Contractile forces are implicated in cell polarity and asymmetric division, but their contribution to cell fate is unclear. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Shin et al. (2014) show that myosin-II isoforms sense matrix stiffness in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, with polarized myosin-IIB promoting asymmetric self-renewal and constitutive myosin-IIA activation promoting cytokine-triggered differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. Electronic address: yi.zheng@cchmc.org.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA; Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Geiger
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002465:Cell Movement; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000502:physiology*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D024507:Nonmuscle Myosin Type IIA / Q000378:metabolism*; D024501:Nonmuscle Myosin Type IIB / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D024507:Nonmuscle Myosin Type IIA; D024501:Nonmuscle Myosin Type IIB