HOXB4 Increases Runx1 Expression to Promote the de novo Formation of Multipotent Hematopoietic Cells

The de novo generation of patient-specific hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has become a promising approach for cell replacement therapies in the future. However, efficient differentiation protocols for producing fully functional human hematopoietic stem cells are still missing. In the mouse model, ectopic expression of the human homeotic selector protein HOXB4 has been shown to enforce the development of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in differentiating pluripotent stem cell cultures. However, the mechanism how HOXB4 mediates the formation of HSCs capable of long-term, multilineage repopulation after transplantation is not well understood yet