Damage Control

Throughout the body, pools of stem cells provide a steady supply of replenishments to our tissues. These cells can develop into any form required, and are funnelled to nearby areas in need of repair or maintenance. But the exact process that mobilises these stores, or niches, into action at times of stress is unclear. To investigate, researchers studied stem cells in mouse skin responsible for regenerating hair. When they created a breach in the niche’s barrier, the stem cells (coloured red) responded to the damage by multiplying and calling reinforcements from the immune system (green). By recruiting help, the stem cells were able to divert resources to repairing the damage. If stem cells throughout the body interact with the immune system in similar ways to detect and deal with damage, we might one day be able to tap into this communication to help regenerate injured and diseased tissues.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis

Writer

Ant was the web editor in the early days of BPoD, and has since worked with the UK’s top science organisations as a writer and multimedia producer. He now splits his time between freelance work and managing multimedia at The Lancet.

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• Image from work by Kenneth Lay and colleagues
• Robin Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY , USA
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Research published in eLife, December 2018