Ageing of the Stem Cells: The Conjoined Twosome Growing Old: Stem Cell and Its Niche

Stem cells are considered distinctly localized within tissues because of specific anatomical structures called the stem cell niche. Intimately connected, the stem cell and the niche are subject to aging. Potent mechanisms of biological aging are control of cellular metabolism, the action of aging genes, epigenetic drift and inflammation, which also modulate the cellular age of stem cells. A common feature of aged stem cells is however hyperactivation.