Quiescence Multiverse

Cellular quiescence is operationally defined as a temporary and reversible cessation of proliferation. This state encompasses a wide range of physiological situations since most cells, from microbes to cells composing complex tissues, spend most of their lives non-dividing, waiting for signals to reproliferate. As such, individual quiescent cells must withstand the effects of time not only to survive but also to maintain their ability to divide. These capacities are shaped by a combination of deterministic factors relying on cell history and cumulative stochastic events linked to the environment but also to time. In addition, with time, quiescence deepens, the quiescence exit process being extended. Yet, this deepening is not necessarily sensed evenly by each individual quiescent cell, and some cells exit quiescence faster than others. Hence, time generates heterogeneity within quiescent cell populations, heterogeneity that, in turn, increases cell population resilience and robustness to time. In this review, we discuss some of the loops that link quiescence and time.