The stem cell population of the human colon crypt: analysis via methylation patterns.

ABSTRACT: The analysis of methylation patterns is a promising approach to investigate the genealogy of cell populations in an organism. In a stem cell-niche scenario, sampled methylation patterns are the stochastic outcome of a complex interplay between niche structural features such as the number of stem cells within a niche and the niche succession time, the methylation/demethylation process, and the randomness due to sampling. As a consequence, methylation pattern studies can reveal niche characteristics but also require appropriate statistical methods. The analysis of methylation patterns sampled from colon crypts is a prototype of such a study. Previous analyses were based on forward simulation of the cell content of the whole crypt and subsequent comparisons between simulated and experimental

SUBMITTER: Nicolas P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1808490 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature