At early stages of vertebrate ontogeny, blood and endothelial cells develop from a common mesodermal progenitor, the haemangioblast. Upon haematopoietic commitment, the haemangioblast generates blood precursors through populations of endothelial cells with haemogenic properties. Although several transcription factors have been implicated in haemangioblast differentiation, the precise mechanisms...

BACKGROUND Physical activity has been shown to stimulate haematopoiesis in patients with anaemia due to chronic renal failure or haematological malignancies. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of moderate exercise on the production of haematopoietically active factors. METHODS Ten patients (four men and six women, mean (SD) age 51 (10) years) with a haemoglobin concentration under 130 g/l (me...

Case report A 67-year-old man presented in May 1978 with malaise and splenomegaly. Initial blood count showed haemoglobin 12-1 g/dl, total white cell count 25 7 x 10'/1 (polymorphs 5 %, lymphocytes 93 %, eosinophils 2 %), platelet count 98 x 10'/1. Bone marrow examination showed a 66% infiltration by mature lymphocytes. Haematopoiesis otherwise was morphologically normal. A diagnosis of chronic...

The role of substance P (SP) in physiological haematopoiesis is well established. However, it also seems to be important in the neoplastic transformation of bone marrow, leading to the development of acute leukaemia in children, and also metastases to bone marrow of solid tumours (particularly neuroblastoma and breast cancer) in early stages of these diseases. This review summarises the availab...