A Novel View of the Adult Stem Cell Compartment From the Perspective of a Quiescent Population of Very Small Embryonic-Like Stem Cells. Issue 1 (6th January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ratajczak, Mariusz Z.; Ratajczak, Janina; Suszynska, Malwina; Miller, Donald M.; Kucia, Magda; Shin, Dong-Myung
• Is Part Of: Circulation research. Volume 120:Issue 1(2017)
• Publication Date: 2017-01-06
• Subjects: adult stem cells -- germ layers -- hematopoietic stem cells -- parental imprinting -- ras-GRF1 -- stem cells -- very small embryonic like stem cells; Cardiovascular system -- Periodicals; Blood -- Circulation -- Periodicals; Blood Circulation; Cardiovascular System; Vascular Diseases; Sang -- Circulation -- Périodiques; Appareil cardiovasculaire -- Périodiques; 612.1
• DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.309362
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-7330

Abstract

Abstract : Evidence has accumulated that adult hematopoietic tissues and other organs contain a population of dormant stem cells (SCs) that are more primitive than other, already restricted, monopotent tissue-committed SCs (TCSCs). These observations raise several questions, such as the developmental origin of these cells, their true pluripotent or multipotent nature, which surface markers they express, how they can be efficiently isolated from adult tissues, and what role they play in the adult organism. The phenotype of these cells and expression of some genes characteristic of embryonic SCs, epiblast SCs, and primordial germ cells suggests their early-embryonic deposition in developing tissues as precursors of adult SCs. In this review, we will critically discuss all these questions and the concept that small dormant SCs related to migratory primordial germ cells, described as very small embryonic-like SCs, are deposited during embryogenesis in bone marrow and other organs as a backup population for adult tissue-committed SCs and are involved in several processes related to tissue or organ rejuvenation, aging, and cancerogenesis. The most recent results on successful ex vivo expansion of human very small embryonic-like SC in chemically defined media free from feeder-layer cells open up new and exciting possibilities for their application in regenerative medicine.