Translations:Somatyczne komórki macierzyste/2/en

Types of somatic stem cells

Mesenchymal, hematopoietic, neural, or epithelial stem cells are most commonly used.

• Epithelial stem cells are found e.g. in the small intestine, where they reside in crypts, migrate to villi and differentiate into enterocytes, goblet cells and enteroendocrine cells.
• Hematopoietic stem cells are most abundant in the bone marrow, but also present in umbilical cord blood, and in a smaller degree peripheral blood. They give rise to all types of blood and immune cells, and have been used successfully in transplantation procedures.
• Neural stem cells (NSC) reside in two main neurogenic niches of the adult mammalian brain: in the subventricular zone of lateral ventricles and the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus. They differentiate into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, although not all cells of the NSC population are capable of differentiation into all three types. They are considered for regenerative therapy of neurodegenerative diseases, although their primary function is contribute to brain plasticity, learning and memory rather than damage repair. Moreover, therapeutic use of NSCs is challenging as it requires either intracerebral or xenotransplantation, or otherwise is restricted to stimulation of existing cells; there are also concerns about the integration of transplanted NSCs with surrounding tissue, and the effects of such a procedure on brain function.
• Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are the most commonly used somatic stem cells, due to their high proliferation ability, multipotent differentiation potential (although they tend to favourably differentiate into the types of cells found in the tissue source), and immunomodulatory capacity. Originally characterised in bone marrow, MSCs were subsequently found in most vascularized tissues.