Open AccessConcise Review: Multidimensional Regulation of the Hematopoietic Stem Cell State
Author(s) -
Oh IlHoan,
Humphries R.Keith
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1002/stem.776
Subject(s) - biology , stem cell , haematopoiesis , microbiology and biotechnology , epigenetics , chromatin , transcription factor , crosstalk , cellular differentiation , hematopoietic stem cell , induced pluripotent stem cell , genetics , embryonic stem cell , gene , physics , optics
Abstract Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are characterized by their unique function to produce all lineages of blood cells throughout life. Such tissue‐specific function of HSC is attributed to their ability to execute self‐renewal and multilineage differentiation. Accumulating evidence indicates that the undifferentiated state of HSC is characterized by dynamic maintenance of chromatin structures and epigenetic plasticity. Conversely, quiescence, self‐renewal, and differentiation of HSCs are dictated by complex regulatory mechanisms involving specific transcription factors and microenvironmental crosstalk between stem cells and multiple compartments of niches in bone marrows. Thus, multidimensional regulatory inputs are integrated into two opposing characters of HSCs—maintenance of undifferentiated state analogous to pluripotent stem cells but execution of tissue‐specific hematopoietic functions. Further studies on the interplay of such regulatory forces as “cell fate determinant” will likely shed the light on diverse spectrums of tissue‐specific stem cells. S TEM C ELLS 2012;30:82–88