Master regulator unmasked

摘要

PLURIPOTENT stem cells are able to differentiate into several distinct cell types, but the mechanisms by which they do so remain one of the central mysteries of biology. Haematopoiesis (the production of blood cells} provides an excellent model for probing this process. In two recent papers by the Orldn and Begley groups, the product of the SCLITAL-1 gene (hereafter called SCL) is identified as a pivotal regulatory protein which is expressed in the pluripotent haematopoietic stem cell, and is essential for the development of all haematopoietic lineages.