Spradling A C, Nystul T, Lighthouse D, Morris L, Fox D, Cox R, Tootle T, Frederick R, Skora A
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Laboratories, Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 2008;73:49-57. doi: 10.1101/sqb.2008.73.023. Epub 2008 Nov 6.
The genetic analysis of four distinct Drosophila stem cells and their niches has revealed principles of stem cell biology that are likely to apply widely. A stem cell and its niche act together as integral parts of a system that supplies replacement cells when and where they are needed within a tissue. Stem cell/niche units are highly regulated and continue to operate despite the periodic turnover and replacement of all of their component cells. To successfully respond to tissue needs, these units receive and process a wide range of local and systemic information. A stem cell alone would be no more use at this task than an isolated neuron. It is only when integrated into a system of multiple interacting cells (the niche) that stem cells achieve the capacity to serve as the fundamental units of tissue homeostasis and repair.
对四种不同的果蝇干细胞及其微环境进行的遗传分析揭示了干细胞生物学的原理，这些原理可能具有广泛的适用性。干细胞及其微环境共同作为一个系统的组成部分发挥作用，该系统在组织内需要的时候和地点提供替代细胞。干细胞/微环境单元受到高度调控，尽管其所有组成细胞会定期更新和替换，但它们仍持续运作。为了成功响应组织需求，这些单元接收并处理广泛的局部和全身信息。单独一个干细胞在这项任务中并不比一个孤立的神经元更有用。只有当整合到多个相互作用细胞（微环境）的系统中时，干细胞才具备作为组织稳态和修复基本单元的能力。
