Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 31, 2026
06:11
Author Spotlight: Ex Vivo Protocol for Culturing Quiescent Muscle Stem Cells with Niche Components
Published on: June 2, 2023
1.9K
Stem cell homeostasis by integral feedback through the niche.
Nils B Becker1, Matthias Günther1, Congxin Li1
1German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Division of Theoretical Systems Biology, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany.
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|December 24, 2018
Summary
This study proposes a cooperative model for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) homeostasis, where niche cells regulate HSC proliferation. This explains how HSC numbers are maintained and recovered after injury.
Area of Science:
- Stem cell biology
- Hematopoiesis research
- Tissue regeneration
Background:
- Hematopoiesis is a key process for tissue development and renewal from stem cells.
- Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) require niche cell signals for maintenance, but the mechanism regulating HSC compartment size remains unclear.
- Existing theories of HSC competition for niche access are challenged by the numerical disparity between HSCs and bone marrow niche cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and investigate a cooperative model for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) homeostasis.
- To elucidate the regulatory mechanisms governing the size of the HSC compartment.
- To explain puzzling experimental observations regarding HSC recovery after different types of injury.
Main Methods:
- Development of a theoretical cooperative model for HSC homeostasis.
- Mathematical analysis of bidirectional niche-stem cell interactions.
- Modeling HSC-niche interactions as a proportional-integral feedback controller.
Main Results:
- The proposed cooperative model explains homeostatic recovery of the HSC compartment after irradiation and lack of recovery after HSC ablation.
- Bidirectional regulation between niche and stem cells exhibits properties of a proportional-integral feedback controller.
- The model predicts that HSC proliferation and differentiated cell outflux can be modulated by HSC affinity for niche cells.
Conclusions:
- Niche cells act as negative feedback regulators of HSC proliferation, contributing to stem cell homeostasis.
- Bidirectional communication between stem cells and their niche is crucial for maintaining stem cell pool size.
- Understanding the reciprocal effects of stem cells on their niche is as important as studying niche-to-stem cell signaling for stem cell homeostasis.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Stem Cell Niche
6.3K
The stem cell niche is the dynamic microenvironment where stem cells reside. Inside these niches, the cells may remain undifferentiated, undergo high self-renewal, or become lineage-specific progenitors. Stem cells coexist with other niche cells, such as stromal cells. They also interact closely with the ECM. Cell-cell and cell-matrix communication occur via adhesion molecules or soluble factors that signal the stem cells and determine their fate. Stromal cells also provide survival signals to...
6.3K
01:06Multipotency and Niche of Bulge Stem Cell
4.2K
A hair follicle or HF is a small part of the skin that produces the hair shaft. Paul Gerson Unna was the first to observe a bulge in the human hair follicle's outer root sheath (ORS). The bulge is present between the sebaceous gland and the arrector pili muscle and is the niche for hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). The bulge is also a niche for melanocyte stem cells, and their loss results in graying of hair. The HFSCs express Sox9 and Lhx2, which help them maintain stemness and prevent...
4.2K
02:02Ecological Niches
26.6K
All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.
26.6K
00:46Feedback Inhibition
57.1K
Biochemical reactions are occurring constantly in cells, converting starting substances to different products, usually with the help of enzymes that speed the reactions. Without enzymes, it would take far too long for most reactions to occur to be useful to the cell!
57.1K
01:16What is Homeostasis?
54.7K
Maintaining homeostasis requires that the body continuously maintain its internal conditions. Each physiological condition has a particular set point, from body temperature to blood pressure to levels of certain nutrients. A set point is the physiological value around which the normal range fluctuates. A normal range is a restricted set of values that is optimally healthful and stable. For example, the set point for normal human body temperature is approximately 37°C (98.6°F).
54.7K
01:31pH Homeostasis
18.7K
Acid-base homeostasis is essential for maintaining normal physiological activities in humans. The pH of various body fluids is strictly regulated because it is critical for the optimal activity of enzymes involved in metabolic reactions. Enzymes are basically proteins, so, any significant change in pH can affect their structure and activity. In humans, pH is regulated using three primary mechanisms— chemical buffer systems, respiratory regulation, and renal regulation.
Respiratory...
Respiratory...
18.7K