The roles of SOX17 and RUNX1 in the generation of haematopoietic lineages from human pluripotent stem cells

Investigating the stages of human blood cell development forms the basis of this thesis. Human embryonic stem cells were used to examine the contribution of two genes in developing blood cells, SOX17 and RUNX1. The gene RUNX1 was found to be essential in the early stage, whilst SOX17 was necessary in the latter stage of blood cell development. This study provides an understanding of blood cell development in the embryo. In the future, these laboratory generated blood cells may assist in therapeutic treatments for leukaemia patients and those diagnosed with blood diseases.