Mechanism behind blood stem cells’ longevity discovered
November 29, 2013
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A blood stem cell dividing. Myosin IIB is labeled green and is concentrated on the side that will remain a stem cell (credit: University of Pennsylvania)
A study from the University of Pennsylvania has uncovered one of the mechanisms that allow blood stem cells to keep dividing in perpetuity.
Background
The blood stem cells that live in bone marrow are at the top of a complex family tree. Such stem cells split and divide down various pathways that ultimately produce red cells, white cells, and platelets.
These “daughter” cells must be produced at the astounding rate of about one million per second to constantly replenish the body’s blood supply./.../
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