A Master Repressor Protein, Tcf3, Holds Stem Cells Back Until the Time is Right
Nov 30th, 2006 by Axel
For stem cells, timing is key: To maintain their versatility they rely on a molecular mechanism that keeps the cells in a state of self-renewal until they are needed by adjacent tissue. Now, new reveals that in skin, the Tcf3 protein is a critical component of this mechanism, where it functions both to keep stem cells from differentiating and to motivate them to a specific lineage when the time is right.