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The Problem of Stem Cell Definition

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Abstract

Stem cells play a key role in development and homeostasis, regeneration and evolution. Over the past 150 years, the concept of stem cells has undergone significant changes, but the exact definition of stem cells is lacking. The review discusses significant properties of stem cells such as self-maintenance, regenerative reserve, aging, plasticity and heterogeneity. The stem cell concept evolves as the new methods and techniques to study the fundamental aspects of cell biology are developed. The problem of stem cell definition and prospects for its further study are discussed.

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Funding

The work was supported by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for Research Project “Development of Technology of manufacturing, storage, and application of biomedical cell products for wound healing” in accordance with grant agreement no. 075-15-2019-1243 approved on June 7, 2019, unique identifier RFMEFI61017X0012.

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  1. Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    Ekaterina Vorotelyak, Andrey Vasiliev & Vasiliy Terskikh

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  1. Ekaterina Vorotelyak
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Ekaterina Vorotelyak, Vasiliev, A. & Terskikh, V. The Problem of Stem Cell Definition. Cell Tiss. Biol. 14, 169–177 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1990519X20030086

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