Tissue Engineering Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research

Advances in Stem Cells and their Niches

Advances in Stem Cells and their Niches:
The somatic cell niche is that the in vivo microenvironment where stem cells both reside and receive stimuli that determine their fate. Therefore, the niche shouldn't be considered simply a physical location for stem cells, rather because the places where extrinsic signals interact and integrate to influence stem sell behaviour. These stimuli include cell-to-cell and cell-matrix interactions and signals (molecules) that activate and/or repress genes and transcription programs. Stem cells participate in dynamic physiologic systems that dictate the result of developmental events and organismal stress, since these cells are fundamental to tissue maintenance and repair, the signals they receive play a critical role within the integrity of the organism.