The stromal stem cells in this second group function as a niche to recruit and store the incoming blood stem cells and retain their stem cell activity throughout life.
Progenitor cell maintenance at late developmental stages is also dependent upon Hedgehog (Hh) signaling from a small population of cells called the posterior signaling center that functions as a hematopoietic niche (PSC) (Lebestky et al., 2003; Jung et al., 2005).
These findings indicate that the human MSC-derived ossicles function as a hematopoietic niche and may potentially serve as a re-engineerable platform to study normal and diseased human hematopoiesis in a physiologically optimized environment.
The adipose vasculature has been proposed to function as a progenitor niche and might provide the signals for adipocyte development (Tang et al., 2008).
Our transcriptional profiling study identifies the LEC as a preferential site for limbal SC with some characteristics suggesting that it could function as a 'SC niche' supporting quiescent SC.
The posterior signaling center (PSC) functions as a supportive population (a niche) that expresses Hedgehog (Hh) and maintains the progenitor cells utilizing this 'niche signal'.
But, on top of utilitarian functions, this technological future could offer even more experimental and bespoke objects that function on a niche level.
The authors also proposed that glomerular PECs could function as a progenitor cell niche for podocytes and under proper settings could proliferate and transdifferentiate into podocytes, which may be a pivotal factor for the regression of DN [ 31].
But surviving as a niche player is hard.
There is no such thing as a niche human.
