Sipkins said it appears the cancer overproduces a normally expressed molecule called a stem cell factor, which entices normal stem cells into the cancer niche.

Furthermore, reciprocal cooperation between HSCs and osteoblasts play a profound and central role in the establishment and maintenance of the stem cell niche in the bone marrow.

We show that the lingual cervical loop contains a small core of stellate reticulum cells and suggest that it acts as a functional stem cell niche.