Cell differentiation

Normal differentiation: Hematopoiesis

An example of differentiation in humans is hematopoiesis in which pluripotent stem cells (in the bone marrow) divide and differentiate, passing through many recognizable intermediate steps to form red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells etc. Growth factors that are known to stimulate transitions are indicated.

Aberrant differentiation due to cancer

• Malignant cells can arise at any stage during the process of differentiation, leading to many different types of leukemias. Leukemia cells may retain some characteristics of the stage of differentiation at which the cells become cancerous.
  
  
• Normal hematopoietic stem cells proliferate rapidly but they differentiate into cells such as monocytes, granulocytes, red blood cells and platelets that have a limited life span. Leukemia cells have lost this capacity to terminally differentiate resulting in the progressive accumulation of immature, non-functional cells with a relatively prolonged life span.
  
  

	Cell Differentiation
	Mutations Affecting Cellular Processes
	Accumulation of Mutations in Cancer
	Cell Proliferation
	Genomic Instability
	Familial Cancers