A subpopulation of mouse esophageal basal cells has properties of stem cells with the capacity for self-renewal and lineage specification.

ABSTRACT: The esophageal epithelium is a prototypical stratified squamous epithelium that exhibits an exquisite equilibrium between proliferation and differentiation. After basal cells proliferate, they migrate outward toward the luminal surface, undergo differentiation, and eventually slough due to apoptosis. The identification and characterization of stem cells responsible for the maintenance of the esophageal epithelium remains elusive. Here, we employed Hoechst dye extrusion and BrdU label-retaining assays to identify in mice a potential esophageal stem cell population that localizes to the basal cell compartment. The self-renewing capacity of this population was characterized using a clonogenic assay and a 3D organotypic culture model. The putative esophageal stem cells were also capable of epi

SUBMITTER: Kalabis J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2579884 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature