Hemangioblast

Hemangioblast is a multipotent cell, common precursor to hematopoietic and endothelial cells. Hemangioblast was first hypothesized in 1900 by W. His.

Hemangioblasts have been first extracted from embryonic cultures and manipulated by cytokines to differentiate along either hematopoietic or endothelial route. It has been shown that these pre-endothelial/pre-hematopoietic cells in the embryo arise out of a phenotype CD34 population. It was then found that hemangioblasts are also present in the tissue of fully developed individuals, such as in newborn infants and adults.

Adult Hemangioblast
There is now emerging evidence of hemangioblasts that continue to exist in the adult as circulating stem cells in the peripheral blood that can give rise to both endothelial cells and hematopoietic cells. These cells are thought to express both CD34 and CD133 These cells are likely derived from the bone marrow, and may even be derived from hematopoietic stem cells.