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

Wilhelm His, Jr.

Wilhelm His, Jr. was a Swiss-born cardiologist and anatomist.He was born on December 29, 1863 to Wilhelm His, Sr.. In 1893, he discovered the bundle of His, which is a specialized tissue in the heart that transmits the electrical impulses and helps synchronize contraction of the cardiac muscles...

.

Hemangioblasts have been first extracted from embryo

Embryo

An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...

nic 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

Embryo

An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...

 arise out of a phenotype CD34

CD34

CD34 molecule is a cluster of differentiation molecule present on certain cells within the human body. It is a cell surface glycoprotein and functions as a cell-cell adhesion factor. It may also mediate the attachment of stem cells to bone marrow extracellular matrix or directly to stromal cells...

 population. It was then found that hemangioblasts are also present in the tissue of post-natal 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

CD34

CD34 molecule is a cluster of differentiation molecule present on certain cells within the human body. It is a cell surface glycoprotein and functions as a cell-cell adhesion factor. It may also mediate the attachment of stem cells to bone marrow extracellular matrix or directly to stromal cells...

 and CD133

CD133

CD133, originally known as AC133. CD133 is a glycoprotein also known in humans and rodents as Prominin 1 . Currently the function of CD133 is unknown...

  These cells are likely derived from the bone marrow

Bone marrow

Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...

, and may even be derived from hematopoietic stem cells.

See also

• Angioblast
  Angioblast
  Blood vessels first make their appearance in several scattered vascular areas that are developed simultaneously between the endoderm and the mesoderm of the yolk-sac, i. e., outside the body of the embryo...
  
  
• Endothelial progenitor cell
  Endothelial progenitor cell
  Endothelial progenitor cells are a population of rare cells that circulate in the blood with the ability to differentiate into endothelial cells, the cells that make up the lining of blood vessels. The process by which blood vessels are born de novo from endothelial progenitor cells is known as...
  
  
• Vasculogenesis
  Vasculogenesis
  Vasculogenesis is the process of blood vessel formation occurring by a de novo production of endothelial cells.-Process:Though similar to angiogenesis, the two are different in one aspect: The term angiogenesis denotes the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, whereas...
  
  
• Hemangioblastoma
  Hemangioblastoma
  Hemangioblastomas are tumors of the central nervous system that originate from the vascular system usually during middle-age. Sometimes these tumors occur in other sites such as the spinal cord and retina...