Are postnatal hemangioblasts generated by dedifferentiation from committed hematopoietic stem cells?
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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Directed Differentiation of Primitive and Definitive Hematopoietic Progenitors from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Published on: November 1, 2017
Gregor A Prindull1, Eitan Fibach
1Department of Pediatrics,University of Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany. gregorprindull@aol.com
Abstract:
Cell dedifferentiation occurs in different cell systems. In spite of a relative paucity of data it seems reasonable to assume that cell dedifferentiation exists in reversible equilibrium with differentiation, to which cells resort in response to intercellular signals. The current literature is indeed compatible with the concept that dedifferentiation is guided by structural rearrangements of nuclear chromatin, directed by epigenetic cell memory information available as silenced genes stored on heterochromatin, and that gene transcription exists in reversible "fluctuating continua" during parental cell cycles. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms of cell dedifferentiation and suggest for hematopoietic development that postnatal hemangioblasts are generated by dedifferentiation of committed hematopoietic stem cells.
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