Renin–angiotensin system and hemangioblast development from human embryonic stem cells

Abstract

Evaluation of: Zambidis ET, Soon Park T, Yu W et al. Expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme (CD143) identifies and regulates primitive hemangioblasts derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Blood 112, 3601–3614 (2008).

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) offer the opportunity to create a novel source of blood cells for transfusion, transplantation and cancer immunotherapy. Identification of sequential progenitors leading to blood development, as well as a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms of hematopoietic lineage specification and diversification from hESCs, will be critical to advance technologies for large-scale production of blood cells and in vitro generation of hematopoietic stem cells. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that hematopoiesis, both in vivo during embryogenesis and in vitro from hESCs, is initiated from hemangioblasts; cells with the potential to generate both hematopoietic and endothelial cells. However, the phenotypic and functional properties of hemangioblasts remain largely unknown. The paper from Zambidis et al. is the first demonstration that hemangioblasts generated from hESCs express angiotensin-converting enzyme (CD143). More importantly, the current study demonstrates that the renin–angiotensin system plays a critical role in the hemangioblast fate decision to produce either blood or endothelial cells. These findings could be exploited for developing novel cellular and drug therapies for hematological and vascular diseases.

Keywords::

• angiotensin-converting enzyme
• hemangioblast
• hematopoietic stem cells
• human embryonic stem cells
• renin–angiotensin system

Financial & competing interest disclosure

Igor Slukvin is stockholder and a scientific founder of Cellular Dynamics International. Cellular Dynamics is developing hematopoietic cells from induced pluripotent stem cells for drug screening and toxicity testing. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.