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STEM CELLS

An inflammatory switch for stem cell plasticity

Tissue-resident stem cells are capable of remarkable plasticity in areas of tissue damage, where inflammatory cells accumulate as part of the reparative response. A study in the lung now provides critical insight on how inflammatory signals alter cell-to-cell Notch signalling within the airway niche to drive stem cell plasticity.

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Fig. 1: Model of inflammation sensing in the stem cell niche that promotes airway secretory cell plasticity.

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Correspondence to Tien Peng.

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Kathiriya, J.J., Peng, T. An inflammatory switch for stem cell plasticity. Nat Cell Biol 23, 928–929 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-021-00752-4

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