Optimal structure of heterogeneous stem cell niche: The importance of cell migration in delaying tumorigenesis

AbstractStudying the stem cell niche architecture is a crucial step for investigating the process of oncogenesis and obtaining an effective stem cell therapy for various cancers. Recently, it has been observed that there are two groups of stem cells in the stem cell niche collaborating with each other to maintain tissue homeostasis. One group comprises the border stem cells, which is responsible to control the number of non-stem cells as well as stem cells. The other group, central stem cells, regulates the stem cell niche. In the present study, we develop a bi-compartmental stochastic model for the stem cell niche to study the spread of mutants within the niche. The analytic calculations and numeric simulations, which are in perfect agreement, reveal that in order to delay the spread of mutants in the stem cell niche, a small but non-zero number of stem cell proliferations must occur in the central stem cell compartment. Moreover, the migration of border stem cells to the central stem cell compartment delays the spread of mutants. Furthermore, the fixation probability of mutants in the stem cell niche is independent of types of stem cell division as long as all stem cells do not divide fully asymmetrically. Additionally, the progeny of central stem cells have a much higher chance than the progeny of border stem cells to take over the entire niche.