title: Age-related Deterioration of Hematopoietic Stem Cells.
abstract: Aging is the process of system deterioration over time in the whole body. Stem cells are self-renewing and therefore have been considered exempt from the aging process. Earlier studies by Hayflick showed that there is an intrinsic limit to the number of divisions that mammalian somatic cells can undergo, and cycling kinetics and ontogeny-related studies strongly suggest that even the most primitive stem cell functions exhibit a certain degree of aging. Despite these findings, studies on the effects of aging on stem cell functions are inconclusive. Here we review the age-related properties of hematopoietic stem cells in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic alterations, proliferative potential, signaling molecules, telomere and telomerase, senescence and cancer issues, regenerative potential and other indications of stem cell aging are discussed in detail.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine ; Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, AMC.
authors.forename: Mi Jung
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, AMC.
authors.forename: Min Hwan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, AMC.
authors.forename: Seung Ah
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Suk
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chang
keywords: Aging; Hematopoietic stem cells; Phenotype shift; Proliferative potential