Entropy, Ergodicity, and Stem Cell Multipotency

Populations of mammalian stem cells commonly exhibit considerable cell-cell variability. However, the functional role of this diversity is unclear. Here, we analyze expression fluctuations of the stem cell surface marker Sca1 in mouse hematopoietic progenitor cells using a simple stochastic model an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2015-11, Vol.115 (20), p.208103-208103, Article 208103
Main Authors: Ridden, Sonya J, Chang, Hannah H, Zygalakis, Konstantinos C, MacArthur, Ben D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Ataxin-1 - biosynthesis
Cells (biology)
Dynamic tests
Entropy
Fluctuation
Hematopoietic Stem Cells - metabolism
Hematopoietic Stem Cells - physiology
Mammals
Markers
Maximum entropy
Mice
Models, Biological
Multipotent Stem Cells - metabolism
Multipotent Stem Cells - physiology
Populations
Stem cells
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Populations of mammalian stem cells commonly exhibit considerable cell-cell variability. However, the functional role of this diversity is unclear. Here, we analyze expression fluctuations of the stem cell surface marker Sca1 in mouse hematopoietic progenitor cells using a simple stochastic model and find that the observed dynamics naturally lie close to a critical state, thereby producing a diverse population that is able to respond rapidly to environmental changes. We propose an information-theoretic interpretation of these results that views cellular multipotency as an instance of maximum entropy statistical inference.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.208103