Hematopoietic Development of ES Cells in Culture

Under appropriate culture conditions, ES cells will spontaneously differentiate and generate colonies known as embryoid bodies (EBs) that contain precursors of multiple lineages, including those of the hematopoietic system (1-7). Previous studies have demonstrated that the molecular events leading to hematopoietic commitment, as well as the kinetics of lineage development within the EBs, parallel that found in the normal mouse embryo (5). More recent studies (8-11) have supported these earlier findings and have provided evidence that hematopoietic development within EBs can be divided into the following distinct stages: hemangioblast, primitive and early definitive, and multilineage definitive. These stages most closely correspond to the preblood island, the early-mid yolk sac, and the late yolk sac-early fetal-liver hematopoietic programs within the mouse embryo.