KIZILKAYAPHOTOS / ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
T.B. Kurth et al., “Functional mesenchymal stem cell niches in the adult knee joint synovium in vivo,” Arthritis and Rheumatism, DOI: 10.1002/art.30234. Free F1000 evaluation
Abnormal cell growth in joints is a hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis, but the origin of these cells was heretofore unknown. Cosimo De Bari of the University of Aberdeen has located adult stem cells in knee joints for the first time through a “meticulous analysis” of the injury and healing process, writes Rik Lories from the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium.
Stem cells cycle slowly until an injury triggers their rapid proliferation to help repair damage, a feature De Bari took advantage of to test for the presence of these cells. After first labeling murine cells that cycle slowly, the researchers ...
