The stem-cell niche as an entity of action

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Stem-cell populations are established in ‘niches’ — specific anatomic locations that regulate how they0 |/ P4 X/ U2 ^
participate in tissue generation, maintenance and repair. The niche saves stem cells from depletion,/ R% t! Q  e# q7 k/ q2 q) c2 e
while protecting the host from over-exuberant stem-cell proliferation. It constitutes a basic unit of tissue: O7 J/ m- E6 {$ q. l
physiology, integrating signals that mediate the balanced response of stem cells to the needs of organisms.
9 M* t% r6 w( BYet the niche may also induce pathologies by imposing aberrant function on stem cells or other targets. The9 i* A6 g- A. |; H. M1 G
interplay between stem cells and their niche creates the dynamic system necessary for sustaining tissues, and0 _" {* h) U) ?2 a& U8 Y' B8 |- J
for the ultimate design of stem-cell therapeutics.