Can genetics resolve what Notch does in HSCs?

Abstract

The effects of Notch signaling in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells remain controversial. In work presented in this issue of Blood, Duarte et al interfere genetically with the Notch transcriptional complex (NTC) in hematopoiesis and demonstrate that canonical Notch signals are dispensable in primitive hematopoietic progenitors, as well as across the myeloid, erythroid (E), and megakaryocyte (Mk) lineages.