The NF-κB family: Key players during embryonic development and HSC emergence

The nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) family is a crucial transcription factor group known mainly for its role in the regulation of the immune system and its response to infection in vertebrates. The signaling pathway leading to NF-kappa B activation and translocation to the nucleus to exert its function as a transcription factor is well conserved among Kingdom Animalia, which has helped to elucidate other roles that NF-kappa B plays in other biological contexts such as developmental biology. The manipulation of NF-kappa B members in a diverse range of animal models results in severe developmental defects during embryogenesis, very often leading to embryonic lethality. Defects include dorsal-ventral patterning and limb, liver, skin, lung, neural, notochord, muscle, skeletal, and hematopoietic defects. Here, we recapitulate the research that has been done to address the role that NF-kappa B plays during embryonic development, in particular to emphasize its recently discovered role in the specification of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), the foundation of the hematopoietic system in vertebrates. Copyright (C) 2016 ISEH - International Society for Experimental Hematology. Published by Elsevier Inc.