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Very Small Embryonic Like Stem Cells (VSELs) and Their Hematopoietic Specification

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Working with Stem Cells

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Abstract

Evidence has accumulated that adult tissues, including bone marrow, contain developmentally early stem cells that remain in a dormant state as well as stem cells that are more proliferative, supplying tissue-specific progenitor cells, which, therefore, display an active role in the turnover of adult tissues. To support this idea, we have identified in adult tissues a population of dormant pluripotent very small embryonic/epiblast like stem cells (VSELs) that, as we hypothesize, are deposited at the begining of gastrulation in developing tissues and play an important role as backup population of tissue committed stem cells. We envision that during steady state conditions VSELs may be involved in tissue rejuvenation and in processes of regeneration/repair after organ injuries. These small cells, similarly to epiblast-derived migrating primordial germ cells, change the epigenetic signature of some of the parentally imprinted genes and remain quiescent in adult tissues, not growing into teratoma. In this chapter, we will present FACS based strategies on how to correctly detect, enumerate and sort these cells in murine bone marrow. We will also provide a protocol for hematopoietic specification of VSELs in a co-culture system using adherent OP-9 supportive cell line.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by NIH grants 2R01 DK074720 and R01HL112788, NCN Harmonia Grant UMO-2014/14/M/NZ3/00475 and the Stella and Henry Endowment to MZR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stem Cell Institute at James Graham Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, 500 S. Floyd Street, Rm. 107, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA

    Malwina Suszynska, Mariusz Z. Ratajczak & Janina Ratajczak

  2. Department of Regenerative Medicine, Warsaw Medical University, Warsaw, ul. Zwirki and Wigury 61, Warsaw, Poland

    Mariusz Z. Ratajczak

Authors
  1. Malwina Suszynska
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  2. Mariusz Z. Ratajczak
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  3. Janina Ratajczak
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Correspondence to Mariusz Z. Ratajczak .

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Suszynska, M., Ratajczak, M.Z., Ratajczak, J. (2016). Very Small Embryonic Like Stem Cells (VSELs) and Their Hematopoietic Specification. In: Working with Stem Cells. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30582-0_6

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