Plasticity of adult bone marrow stem cells

Publisher Summary In mammals, including humans, newly differentiated cells are continuously generated from stem cells throughout development. In the adult, stem cells are found in different organ systems where they can contribute to the replacement of cells lost to physiological turnover, injury, or disease. When taken from their residence bone marrow-derived stem cells develop characteristics that typify brain, muscle, liver, and endothelial cells. Analogously, brain-derived stem cells exhibit characteristics of hematopoietic and muscle cells. The fate of a cell is therefore likely to be dictated in part by the local environment. This chapter reviews the bone marrow stem cell plasticity, focusing on the differentiation of the cells into different neural cell types and their potential therapeutic value in the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) injury and disease. Stem cells change their properties over time. In the immune system, fetal hematopoietic stem cells have different antigenic properties and exhibit broader lineage potentials than do adult hematopoietic stem cells.