Embryonic stem cells as targets for gene transfer: a new approach to molecular manipulation of the murine hematopoietic system.

Recent advances in the ability to introduce exogenous DNA sequences into specific chromosomal locations in mammalian cells via homologous recombination together with effective manipulation of murine embryos and embryo-derived cell lines (ES cells) make possible the generation of mouse stains with specific genes disrupted. Such gene targeting methods will allow replacement of normally functioning murine genes with genes altered with precise mutations involving many aspects of gene expression, including transcription, processing and protein-protein interactions. ES cell technology will allow experimental hematologists to produce animal models for human hematopoietic diseases and explore the role of complex proteins involved in hematopoiesis in vivo.