To directly compare the role of nestin+ cells in normal hematopoiesis and leukemia development, Nes-creERT2;iDTA and their littermate iDTA controls were competitively transplanted with WT BM cells and non-induced iMLL-AF9 BM cells, allowing simultaneous monitoring of normal and leukemic hematopoiesis, which were distinguished in the same animal by the expression of different CD45 surface marker isoforms (Figure 2A). This evidence concerns the gene NES and leukemia.