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Which body tissues rely on stem cells for continual renewal?
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stem cell
Stem cells of neural and hematopoietic origin have tremendous potential in the development of therapies for certain diseases, such as diabetes and Parkinson disease. Neural stem cells occur in the spinal cord and in specific regions of the brain, and hematopoietic stem cells occur in the blood and bone marrow.
In the human body, several tissues rely on adult stem cells to maintain continuous cellular turnover and homeostasis. These tissues include:12
- Skin: The epidermis contains stem cells in its basal layer that produce new keratinocytes to replace those sloughed off at the surface.32
- Small Intestine: Stem cells located in the crypts of the epithelium continuously generate new cells that migrate onto the villi to replace those shed into the intestinal lumen.32
- Blood-forming Tissue: Located primarily in the bone marrow, hematopoietic stem cells continuously produce the various lineages of blood cells, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.42
While these tissues exhibit constant renewal, other organs—such as the liver—typically show minimal cell division under normal conditions and may not rely on a dedicated stem cell population, instead allowing existing cells to participate in regeneration when injury occurs.2