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STEM CELLS

Close to the bone — in search of the skeletal stem cell

The search for the identity of skeletal stem cells has reached a point at which skeletogenic cell populations with self-renewing capacity can be enriched and studied in detail. These advances provide new hope for skeletal regenerative medicine.

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Fig. 1: Identity and tissue-forming capacity of skeletal stem cells.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the members of Prometheus (the Division of Skeletal Engineering at the KU Leuven) and the UCB Pharma review team for their input. F.P.L. wishes to thank Malcolm Moos Jr. and Petros Lenas for inspirational discussions.

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Correspondence to Frank P. Luyten.

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S.J.R. is an employee of UCB Pharma and may hold UCB Pharma shares and/or stock options. F.P.L declares no competing interests.

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Luyten, F.P., Roberts, S.J. Close to the bone — in search of the skeletal stem cell. Nat Rev Rheumatol 14, 687–688 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-018-0121-6

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