|
|
ArticlesCopyright © 1987 by American Association for the Advancement of Science
The molecular control of blood cell development
Department of Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
The establishment of a cell culture system for the clonal development of blood cells has made it possible to identify the proteins that regulate the growth and differentiation of different blood cell lineages and to discover the molecular basis of normal and abnormal cell development in blood forming tissues. A model system with myeloid blood cells has shown that (i) normal blood cells require different proteins to induce cell multiplication (growth inducers) and cell differentiation (differentiation inducers), (ii) there is a hierarchy of growth inducers as cells become more restricted in their developmental program, and (iii) a cascade of interactions between proteins determines the correct balance between immature and mature cells in normal blood cell development. Gene cloning has shown that there is a family of different genes for these proteins. Normal protein regulators of blood cell development can control the abnormal growth of certain types of leukemic cells and suppress malignancy by inducing differentiation to mature nondividing cells. Chromosome abnormalities that give rise to malignancy in these leukemic cells can be bypassed and their effects nullified by inducing differentiation, which stops cells from multiplying. These blood cell regulatory proteins are active in culture and in the body, and they can be used clinically to correct defects in blood cell development.
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
|
Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)
Magazine | News | Signaling | Careers | Multimedia | Collections | Help | Site Map | RSS
Subscribe | Feedback | Privacy / Legal | About Us | Advertise With Us | Contact Us
© 1987 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All Rights Reserved.
AAAS is a partner of HINARI, AGORA, PatientInform, CrossRef, and COUNTER.
You have reached the bottom of the page. Back to top