Plasticity of epithelial stem cells in tissue regeneration

The versatility of epithelial stem cells Stem cells are very important in the maintenance of our bodies' tissues and organs. Blanpain and Fuchs review how different populations of naturally lineage-restricted epithelial stem cells and committed progenitors can also display remarkable plasticity. These cells can reacquire long-term self-renewing capacities and multilineage differentiation potential during physiological and regenerative conditions. These abilities depend on whether the stem cell remains within its resident niche or has been mobilized to repair a wound. Such cellular plasticity has implications for regenerative medicine and for cancer. Science , this issue p. 10.1126/science.1242281