Niche cell

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Niche Cells are specific anatomic locations that regulate how stem-cell populations participate in tissue generation, maintenance and repair[1]. The niche performs several functions:

  • It saves stem cells from depletion, while protecting the host from over-exuberant stem-cell proliferation[1].
  • It constitutes a basic unit of tissue physiology, integrating signals that mediate the balanced response of stem cells to the needs of organisms[1].
  • It may also induce pathologies by imposing aberrant function on stem cells or other targets[1].

The interplay between stem cells and their niche creates the dynamic system necessary for sustaining tissues, and for the ultimate design of stem-cell therapeutics[1].

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Nature.com Blog
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