Germline Stem Cells

Stem cells are responsible for maintaining tissue homeostasis. They possess unlimited self—renewal potency. Through asymmetric cell division, a stem cell in adult tissues can produce an offspring that will maintain the stem cell populations and a daughter cell that will differentiate into various short—lived cell types to replace damaged or dying cells. Tumors may originate from a few transformed cancer stem cells. Stem cells have immense potential for therapeutic use in regenerative medici...