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In principle, human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) could be used to derive large numbers of all types of differentiated blood and solid-organ cells. In practice, deriving differentiated cells capable of long-term engraftment has proven difficult.
Human hematopoietic stem cells derive from certain endothelial cells. Investigators used a “cocktail” of growth factors to transform hPSCs into endothelial cells and then into hematopoietic stem cells. Next, they identified a second “cocktail,” consisting of seven transcription factors, that could convert hematopoietic stem cells into differentiated myeloid, B, and T cells, which were capable of self-renewal and long-term engraftment in immune-deficient mice.