Differentiation of blood cells

Pluripotent haematopoietic stem cells can renew themselves or differentiate into specific blood cells. During differentiation and under the influence of cytokines, these cells give rise to lymphatic progenitor cells (common lymphoid progenitors, CLP) and to myeloid progenitor cells (common myeloid progenitors, CMP). Both CLP and CMP are multipotent stem cells. The lymphatic progenitor cells gradually develop into plasma cells, B and T lymphocytes, as well as natural killer cells (NK cells). The myeloid progenitor cells first become uni- or bipotent progenitor cells, which then pass through intermediary stages (blasts) to form erythrocytes and thrombocytes, monocytes or neutrophil granulocytes, eosinophil and basophil granulocytes. The unipotent, or determined, progenitor cells are characterized by their ability to form cell colonies (colony forming units, CFU) in vivo.