© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 33
A. Birbrair (ed.), Stem Cell Microenvironments and Beyond,
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1041,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-69194-7_4
Chapter 4
Developmental HSC Microenvironments:
Lessons from Zebrafish
Sara Nik, Joshua T. Weinreb, and Teresa V. Bowman
Abstract Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) posses the ability to maintain the blood
system of an organism from birth to adulthood. The behavior of HSCs is modulated
by its microenvironment. During development, HSCs acquire the instructions to
self-renew and differentiate into all blood cell fates by passing through several
developmental microenvironments. In this chapter, we discuss the signals and cell
types that inform HSC decisions throughout ontogeny with a focus on HSC specifi-
cation, mobilization, migration, and engraftment.
Keywords Zebrafish • Hematopoietic niche • Blood development • Hematopoietic
stem cell
Sara Nik and Joshua T. Weinreb contributed equally.
S. Nik • J.T. Weinreb
Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Albert Einstein
College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Bronx, NY, USA
T.V. Bowman (*)
Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Albert Einstein
College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Bronx, NY, USA
Departments of Molecular Biology and Medicine (Oncology), Albert Einstein College of
Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
e-mail: [email protected]