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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Nov;93(11 0 3):S132–S144. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000000111

Figure 1. Stem cells self-renew and give rise to differentiated progeny.

Figure 1

A. Stem cells (black) divide to form another stem cell (self-renewal) and a progenitor cell (light grey). Progenitor cells divide to amplify their number, and in turn give rise to more differentiated progeny (white).

B. Stem cells reside in specialized niches, which provide important positional cues and regulatory elements that influence stem cell behavior. When a stem cell divides, the daughter cell that retains a stem cell identity is kept within the boundaries of the niche, while the other daughter cell loses the constraint on its phenotype. This second daughter cell now forms undifferentiated progenitors, which in turn give rise to more differentiated progeny.