Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Ex vivo Mimicry of Normal and Abnormal Human Hematopoiesis
Published on: April 10, 2012
The immediate precursors of B lymphocytes have been recently identified in fetal liver and in bone marrow. Immunoglobulin genes, first of the heavy-chain gene family and later from one of the light-chain gene families, are selected and undergo functional rearrangements on one of each chromosomal pair during this stage of differentiation. Thus clonal diversity is generated among cycling pre-B cells that lack the surface antibody expression which characterizes their B-cell progeny. While the number of discriminating markers for pre-B cells is still limited, examination of bone marrow pre-B cells containing cytoplasmic mu chains but lacking surface immunoglobulin has already revealed an informative spectrum of early differentiation defects in antibody deficiency diseases and malignancies of B lineage.
The immediate precursors of B lymphocytes have been recently identified in fetal liver and in bone marrow. Immunoglobulin genes, first of the heavy-chain gene family and later from one of the light-chain gene families, are selected and undergo functional rearrangements on one of each chromosomal pair during this stage of differentiation. Thus clonal diversity is generated among cycling pre-B cells that lack the surface antibody expression which characterizes their B-cell progeny. While the number of discriminating markers for pre-B cells is still limited, examination of bone marrow pre-B cells containing cytoplasmic mu chains but lacking surface immunoglobulin has already revealed an informative spectrum of early differentiation defects in antibody deficiency diseases and malignancies of B lineage.
Related Concept Videos
Abnormal Proliferation
Hematopoiesis
Differentiation of Common Myeloid Progenitor Cells
Abnormal Proliferation
Renewal of Intestinal Stem Cells
Cellular Adaptation IV: Dysplasia and Metaplasia

