Editorial: Fetal/Embryonic Hematopoietic Progenitors and Their Impact on Adult Diseases

Abstract

Despite enormous progress boosted by significant technological advances of the last decade, a complete understanding of hematopoietic development has not yet been achieved. “Primitive” and “definitive” terms have been used for many years to describe the different waves of transient and persistent blood cells generated during ontogeny. However, it is now clear that this terminology is not adequate to address the surprising complexity of the developing hematopoietic system. Gaining additional insight into embryonic and fetal hematopoiesis will not only be relevant for textbook biology, but will carry important implications for the understanding of blood diseases, including genetic conditions and pediatric leukemia. This Research Topic comprises 14 articles including reviews and primary research articles focusing on different aspects on the biology of fetal blood cells, ranging from basic hematopoiesis to technological advances and translational studies.