Kyoto University Traces Blood Cell Evolution

Researchers at Kyoto University, led by Hiroshi Kawamoto and first author Yosuke Nagahata, have unveiled the 700-million-year evolutionary history of blood cells, tracing their origins back to single-celled ancestors. They developed a new analytical method to compare gene expression profiles across species, revealing that early blood cells were macrophage-like and that the FOS gene is a key ancient marker. The study reconstructed the family tree of blood cells, showing how mast cells, T cells, B cells, and red blood cells branched off over time. This discovery not only deepens our understanding of hematology and immunology but also offers potential insights into the evolutionary origins of diseases such as Cancer, paving the way for new treatments.