Expert Reviews in Molecular Medicine: http://www.expertreviews.org/
DOI: 10.1017/S146239940700049X; 19 November 2007
Ilaria Bellantuono and W. Nicol Keith (2007) Stem cell ageing: does it happen and can we intervene? Expert Rev. Mol. Med. Vol. 9, Issue 31, DOI: 10.1017/S146239940700049X

Stem cell ageing: does it happen and can we intervene?

Ilaria Bellantuono ^{a1 c1} and W. Nicol Keith ^a2

^a1 Academic Unit of Bone Biology, University of Sheffield Medical School, Sheffield, S10 2RX, UK.

^a2 Centre for Oncology and Applied Pharmacology, University of Glasgow, Cancer Research UK Beatson Laboratories, Glasgow, G61 1BD, UK.

^c1 Corresponding author: Ilaria Bellantuono, Room EU28, Academic Unit of Bone Biology, University of Sheffield Medical School, Beech Hill Rd, Sheffield, S10 2RX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)114 2711798; Fax: +44 (0)114 2711711; E-mail: i.bellantuono@shef.ac.uk

Adult stem cells have become the focus of intense research in recent years as a result of their role in the maintenance and repair of tissues. They exert this function through their extensive expansion (self-renewal) and multipotent differentiation capacity. Understanding whether adult stem cells retain this capacity throughout the lifespan of the individual, or undergo a process of ageing resulting in a decreased stem cell pool, is an important area of investigation. Progress in this area has been hampered by lack of suitable models and of appropriate markers and assays to identify stem cells. However, recent data suggest that an understanding of the mechanisms governing stem cell ageing can give insight into the mechanism of tissue ageing and, most importantly, advance our ability to use stem cells in cell and gene therapy strategies.

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