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Does the reservoir for self-renewal stem from the ends?

Abstract

Stem cell research is a burgeoning field with an alluring potential for therapeutic intervention, and thus begs a critical understanding of the long-term consequences of stem cell replacement. Operationally, a stem cell may be defined as a rarely dividing cell with the capacity for self-renewal throughout the lifetime of the organism, and an ability to reconstitute its appropriate lineages via proliferation and differentiation. In many differentiated normal and cancer cell types, the maintenance of telomeres plays a pivotal role in their continued division potential. Taken together with the presence of the enzymatic activity responsible for telomere addition, telomerase, in several progenitor cell lineages, it is presumed that telomere maintenance will be critical for the replenishment of stem cells or their successors. The purpose of this review is to discuss the role of telomere length maintenance in self-renewal, and the consequent challenges and potential pitfalls to the manipulation of normal and cancer-derived stem cells.

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Acknowledgements

Where possible, several other relevant reviews on telomere homeostasis and stem cells have been referenced throughout. Unfortunately, space limitations have curtailed the inclusion of all primary literature. I thank Norman Iscove, John Dick, Guy Sauvageau, Rich Allsopp and Irv Weissman, and Jane Roskams for attempting to educate me about stem cells. The NIH (AG16629-04) provided financial support for the generation and analysis of mice deficient in mTert.

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Harrington, L. Does the reservoir for self-renewal stem from the ends?. Oncogene 23, 7283–7289 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1207948

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