{"entity":{"id":"stem-cell","kind":"term","name":"Stem cell","aka":["stem cells","stem-cell","stem-cells","cancer stem cell","cancer stem cells","haematopoietic stem cell","hematopoietic stem cell","stem cell transplant","stem-cell transplant","bone marrow transplant","haematopoietic stem cells","hematopoietic stem cells"],"tldr":"A cell that can both copy itself indefinitely and produce the specialised cells of a tissue. Cancers may be sustained by a small population of stem-like cells that survive treatment and regrow the tumour.","summary":"Blood stem cells in the bone marrow make every red cell, white cell and platelet for life, which is why chemotherapy that damages them causes anaemia, infection risk and bleeding, and why a stem cell transplant can rescue a patient after marrow-destroying high-dose treatment. The cancer stem cell idea holds that tumours are hierarchies too, with a minority of self-renewing cells at the top that are more resistant to chemotherapy and radiation; it is well supported in leukaemia and debated in solid tumours. Drugs aimed at stem-like states (against Wnt, Notch and Hedgehog signalling) have been largely disappointing so far.","asOf":"2026-09-09","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell"}],"tags":[],"related":["differentiation","bone-marrow","cancer-stem-cells-plasticity","tumor-dormancy"],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":["allogeneic-cell-therapy"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":["wnt"],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Biology basics"},"route":"/terms/stem-cell/","neighbours":{"term":[{"id":"bone-marrow","kind":"term","name":"Bone marrow","route":"/terms/bone-marrow/"},{"id":"differentiation","kind":"term","name":"Differentiation","route":"/terms/differentiation/"},{"id":"leukaemia-type","kind":"term","name":"Leukaemia (tissue type)","route":"/terms/leukaemia-type/"}],"pathway":[{"id":"cancer-stem-cells-plasticity","kind":"pathway","name":"Cancer stem cells & phenotypic plasticity","route":"/pathways/cancer-stem-cells-plasticity/"},{"id":"tumor-dormancy","kind":"pathway","name":"Tumour dormancy","route":"/pathways/tumor-dormancy/"},{"id":"wnt","kind":"pathway","name":"Wnt / β-catenin","route":"/pathways/wnt/"}],"technology":[{"id":"allogeneic-cell-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Allogeneic (off-the-shelf) cell therapy","route":"/technologies/allogeneic-cell-therapy/"}],"person":[{"id":"lei-zheng","kind":"person","name":"Lei Zheng","route":"/people/lei-zheng/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-al-hajj-breast-cancer-stem-cells-pnas-2003","kind":"paper","name":"Al-Hajj 2003: prospective identification of tumorigenic breast cancer cells","route":"/key-papers/paper-al-hajj-breast-cancer-stem-cells-pnas-2003/"},{"id":"paper-bao-glioma-stem-cells-radioresistance-nature-2006","kind":"paper","name":"Bao 2006: glioma stem cells resist radiotherapy by activating the DNA damage response","route":"/key-papers/paper-bao-glioma-stem-cells-radioresistance-nature-2006/"},{"id":"paper-mani-emt-stem-cell-properties-cell-2008","kind":"paper","name":"Mani 2008: the epithelial-mesenchymal transition generates cells with properties of stem cells","route":"/key-papers/paper-mani-emt-stem-cell-properties-cell-2008/"},{"id":"paper-reya-cancer-stem-cells-nature-2001","kind":"paper","name":"Reya 2001: stem cells, cancer and cancer stem cells","route":"/key-papers/paper-reya-cancer-stem-cells-nature-2001/"},{"id":"paper-sato-lgr5-organoids-nature-2009","kind":"paper","name":"Sato 2009: single Lgr5 stem cells build crypt-villus organoids","route":"/key-papers/paper-sato-lgr5-organoids-nature-2009/"},{"id":"paper-singh-brain-tumour-initiating-cells-nature-2004","kind":"paper","name":"Singh 2004: identification of human brain tumour initiating cells","route":"/key-papers/paper-singh-brain-tumour-initiating-cells-nature-2004/"}],"institution":[{"id":"bristol-haematology-oncology-centre","kind":"institution","name":"Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre","route":"/institutions/bristol-haematology-oncology-centre/"}]}}