Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Simultaneous Assessment of Kinship, Division Number, and Phenotype via Flow Cytometry for Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells
Published on: March 24, 2023
Divide and conquer: how asymmetric division shapes cell fate in the hematopoietic system
Kendra L Congdon1, Tannishtha Reya
1Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Abstract:
A fundamental mechanism by which cells can give rise to daughters with different fates is via asymmetric division. During asymmetric division, a mother cell generates daughter cells that go on to adopt different fates because of differential segregation of cell fate determinants. Although originally characterized in invertebrates, asymmetric division has recently been shown to regulate cell fate decisions in the mammalian hematopoietic system, playing crucial roles in stem cell renewal, lymphocyte activation, and leukemogenesis. These discoveries have opened new doors to understanding how regulation of division pattern contributes to the normal development and function of the immune system as well as how its dysregulation can lead to cancer.
Related Concept Videos
Multipotency of Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Hematopoiesis
Regulation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Production of Formed Elements
Most HSCs commit to...
Determining the Plane of Cell Division
Animal cells
In animal cells, the cleavage furrow forms along the plane of cell division starting...
Lineage Commitment

