[Cytokine regulation of hemopoietic stem cell proliferation]

The maintenance of mature blood cells requires the presence of hemopoietic stem cells, whose characteristics are their ability both to self-renew and to make differentiated progeny. We proposed a stochastic model for the mechanism of self-renewal and commitment of hemopoietic stem cells using in vitro clonal culture techniques. Recent progress in the molecular biology facilitated isolation and characterization of a number of cytokines that regulate the proliferation of hemopoietic stem cells. In this review, I summarize the current understanding of the mechanisms on interaction between several cytokines including IL-1, IL-3, IL-6, IL-11, G-CSF and stem cell factor (SCF).