Progenitor cell
hideLike stem cells, progenitor cells have a capacity to differentiate into a specific type of cell. In contrast to stem cells, however, they are already far more specific: they are pushed to differentiate into their "target" cell. The most important difference between stem cells and progenitor cells is that stem cells can replicate indefinitely, whereas progenitor cells can only divide a limited number of times. Controversy about the exact definition remains and the concept is still evolving.
Despite the difficulty of defining progenitors, the term is frequently used in research. Thus, the importance of progenitors cannot be ignored.
The terms "progenitor cell" and "stem cell" are sometimes equated.
For more information about Progenitor cell, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with progenitor cells
New source discovered for the generation of nerve cells in the brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 01, 2009 |
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The research group of Professor Magdalena Gotz of Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munich (Germany) has made a significant advance in understanding regeneration processes in the brain. The researchers ...
Stem cells' 'suspended' state preserved by key step, scientists report
Jul 08, 2009 |
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Scientists have identified a gene that is essential for embryonic stem cells to maintain their all-purpose, pluripotent state. Exploiting the finding may lead to a greater understanding of how cells acquire their specialized ...
Cell microenvironments hold key to future stem cell therapies
Feb 27, 2009 |
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Adult stem cells and their more committed kin, progenitor cells, are prized by medical researchers for their ability to produce different types of specialized cells. The potential of using these cells to repair ...
Genetics of patterning the cerebral cortex
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 13, 2009 |
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The cerebral cortex, the largest and most complex component of the brain, is unique to mammals and alone has evolved human specializations. Although at first all stem cells in charge of building the cerebral ...
Low-carb diets linked to atherosclerosis and impaired blood vessel growth
Aug 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Even as low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets have proven successful at helping individuals rapidly lose weight, little is known about the diets' long-term effects on vascular health.
Reactive oxygen in fruit flies acts as a cell signalling mechanism for immune response
Sep 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For years, health conscious people have been taking antioxidants to reduce the levels of reactive oxygen in their blood and prevent the DNA damage done by free radicals, which are the result of oxidative ...
Stem cell 'daughters' lead to breast cancer
Aug 02, 2009 |
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Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have found that a population of breast cells called luminal progenitor cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers that develop in women carrying mutations ...
New steps forward in cell reprogramming
Aug 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have substantially improved the odds of successfully reprogramming differentiated cells into induced ...
Scientists find molecule that regulates heart size by using zebrafish screening model
Jul 05, 2009 |
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Using zebrafish, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have identified and described an enzyme inhibitor that allows them to increase the number of cardiac progenitor cells and therefore influence the size of the developing ...
New device measures heart health with drop of blood
Jun 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Is your heart sound? To answer that question, all assistant professor Shashi Murthy needs is a single drop of your blood.
Researchers identify new source of insulin-producing cells
Nov 24, 2008 |
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Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have shown that insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells can form after birth or after injury from progenitor cells within the pancreas that were not beta cells, a finding that contradicts ...
How to make a lung: Cell-regeneration molecules essential signals for early lung development
Aug 17, 2009 |
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A tissue-repair-and-regeneration pathway in the human body, including wound healing, is essential for the early lung to develop properly. Genetically engineered mice fail to develop lungs when two molecules ...
Environmental factors instruct lineage choice of blood progenitor cells
Jul 15, 2009 |
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The research team led by Dr. Timm Schroeder, stem cell researcher at Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, Germany, has developed a new bioimaging method for observing the differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) at ...
Triggering muscle development -- a therapeutic cure for muscle wastage?
Jul 01, 2009 |
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Scientists in the UK and Denmark have shown that if elderly men were given growth hormone and exercised their legs showed an appreciable muscle mass increase.
Statins Can Stimulate Cardiac Muscle Cell Regeneration, Improve Heart Function
Feb 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Statins, used widely to treat elevated cholesterol, have been shown to prevent progression of coronary narrowing and to have other beneficial effects on the heart, such as reducing inflammation, that are ...
