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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Phenotypic Analysis and Isolation of Murine Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Lineage-committed Progenitors
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Published on: July 8, 2012

Telomere dynamics in hematopoietic stem cells

Stefan Zimmermann1, Uwe M Martens

  • 1Department of Hematology/Oncology, Medical University Center Freiburg, D-79106, Freiburg, Germany.

Current Molecular Medicine
|June 25, 2005
PubMed

The hematopoietic system has an outstanding regenerative capacity which depends on a relatively small population of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). In contrast to normal human cells, blood-forming stem cells, like most of their counterparts from other adult tissues, exhibit telomerase activity to a certain level. Nevertheless, this telomerase activity does not prevent telomere shortening in HSC, suggesting a restriction of their proliferative capacity. Here, we review recent studies on telomere dynamics in HSC of humans and mice. Furthermore, we discuss the impact of telomere manipulation in HSC for possible clinical applications and speculate on functions of telomerase beyond telomere lengthening.

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