The therapeutic promise of apoptosis
Abstract
Stem cells are classically defined by their unlimited proliferative potential and capacity to differentiate into diverse cell types. For many years, investigations in the stem cell field have focused specifically on the self-renewal and differentiation aspects, leaving the mechanisms of stem cell elimination relatively unexplored (1). What may at first appear to be a trivial question—how can an “immortal” self-renewing stem cell commit cellular suicide?—struck me as biologically important. Are there distinct mechanisms enabling such elimination, I wondered, and, if so, to what extent does this process affect tissue regeneration?
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- March 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.aaw3607
- Bibcode:
- 2019Sci...363.1050F