Environmental Interaction and Impact
on the Life Span of Stem Cells
12
Anil Kumar, Krishan Gopal Jain, and Vivek Arora
Abstract
Environment plays an indispensable role in the way an organism responds and
behaves. Our body responds to different environment cues and handles them by
producing various kinds of signal molecules. The behavior of an organism is in
fact controlled by the individual cells which make up the organism and the
behavior of the cells ultimately reflects in the behavior of the organism. The
same is true for stem cells which make up the entire organism and also reside in
niche of each organ. This chapter aims to summarize the existing knowledge and
research conducted in the field of stem cells response to surrounding macro- and
micro-environment. Micro-environment or “the niche” plays an important role in
controlling the behavior of cells which is further affected by the macroenvironment.
12.1 Brief History of Stem Cells
Robert Hooke in the year 1665 for the first time discovered and coined the term
“cell.” This discovery further led to the development of multifaceted scientific
approaches aiming to unravel the secrets of cell division, growth, and organization
into complete organisms.
In 1868, Ernst Haeckel, for the first time used Stammzelle to describe unicellular
ancestral organism as the source of evolution for all the existing multicellular
organisms. In 1877, he further postulated that the fertilized egg is also a stem cell
as it gives rise to all the cells of an organism. Following this in 1892, Theodor Boveri
A. Kumar
Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Haryana, Gurgaon, India
K. G. Jain (*) · V. Arora
Centre of Excellence for Stem Cell Research, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi,
India
# Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Singh et al. (eds.), Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7493-1_12
251
on the Life Span of Stem Cells
12
Anil Kumar, Krishan Gopal Jain, and Vivek Arora
Abstract
Environment plays an indispensable role in the way an organism responds and
behaves. Our body responds to different environment cues and handles them by
producing various kinds of signal molecules. The behavior of an organism is in
fact controlled by the individual cells which make up the organism and the
behavior of the cells ultimately reflects in the behavior of the organism. The
same is true for stem cells which make up the entire organism and also reside in
niche of each organ. This chapter aims to summarize the existing knowledge and
research conducted in the field of stem cells response to surrounding macro- and
micro-environment. Micro-environment or “the niche” plays an important role in
controlling the behavior of cells which is further affected by the macroenvironment.
12.1 Brief History of Stem Cells
Robert Hooke in the year 1665 for the first time discovered and coined the term
“cell.” This discovery further led to the development of multifaceted scientific
approaches aiming to unravel the secrets of cell division, growth, and organization
into complete organisms.
In 1868, Ernst Haeckel, for the first time used Stammzelle to describe unicellular
ancestral organism as the source of evolution for all the existing multicellular
organisms. In 1877, he further postulated that the fertilized egg is also a stem cell
as it gives rise to all the cells of an organism. Following this in 1892, Theodor Boveri
A. Kumar
Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Haryana, Gurgaon, India
K. G. Jain (*) · V. Arora
Centre of Excellence for Stem Cell Research, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi,
India
# Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Singh et al. (eds.), Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7493-1_12
251