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Stem cells are cells that have the capacity to self-renew by dividing and to develop into more mature, specialised cells. Stem cells can be unipotent, multipotent, pluripotent or totipotent, depending on the number of cell types to which they can give rise.
The mechanisms that compensate for the loss of intestinal stem cells after injury are poorly defined. There is a population of intestinal cells, called tuft cells, that do not normally divide. When activated by immunological cues, these cells become proliferative and thus can act as a reserve stem-cell population.
Gene-edited stem cells can be used in regenerative therapies to treat diverse genetic diseases. Tracking the output of these cells over time reveals a commitment to lineages that meet disease-specific needs.
Modelling definitive haematopoiesis in organoids has been challenging. A study now develops blood-generating heart-forming organoids that display heart muscle, vascular endothelium formation and definitive haematopoiesis. This organoid represents an in vitro model of human embryonic circulatory system development.
In Klinefelter syndrome, gene dysregulation due to the extra X chromosome leads to delayed development of fetal germ cells (FGCs), and aberrant interactions between Sertoli cells and FGCs disrupt the migration of late FGCs to the basement membrane.
Senescent cells in the amputated head of the cnidarian Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus drive the reprogramming of somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells, which are required for full body regeneration.
The mechanisms that compensate for the loss of intestinal stem cells after injury are poorly defined. There is a population of intestinal cells, called tuft cells, that do not normally divide. When activated by immunological cues, these cells become proliferative and thus can act as a reserve stem-cell population.
Gene-edited stem cells can be used in regenerative therapies to treat diverse genetic diseases. Tracking the output of these cells over time reveals a commitment to lineages that meet disease-specific needs.
Modelling definitive haematopoiesis in organoids has been challenging. A study now develops blood-generating heart-forming organoids that display heart muscle, vascular endothelium formation and definitive haematopoiesis. This organoid represents an in vitro model of human embryonic circulatory system development.
High levels of superoxide (O2•–) are known to regulate plant stem cell behavior, but its downstream effectors remain unclear. O2•– was found to directly promote DNA demethylase ROS1 activity to maintain the stemness of plant shoot apical meristem.
