Endothelial and hematopoietic cell fate of human embryonic stem cells

The endothelial cells, lining the inside of blood vessels, and the blood-forming hematopoietic cells play crucial roles in vasculogenesis. The establishment of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) provides a unique tool to study the early development of endothelial and hematopoietic cells, opening new avenues of research to explore organ vascularization and regeneration. The current study demonstrates that a population of intermediate-stage precursors, which possesses primitive endothelial properties during hESC differentiation, is capable of giving rise to endothelial and hematopoietic cells. Single cell analysis reveals that these primitive endothelial-like precursors contain rare bipotent cells with hemangioblast properties, responsible for both endothelial and hematopoietic cell fates. These findings will facilitate the further study of cellular commitment, lineage restriction, and terminal differentiation of endothelial and hematopoietic compartments and may lead to novel regenerative therapies.