Summary
Two models of differentiation in renewal systems have been analyzed, and their capacities to regulate production of differentiated cells in the normal steady state and under conditions of excessive and prolonged growth stimulation have been compared. Decompensation of one model leads to depletion of stem cells, the other to accumulation of stem cells. The histological demonstration of accumulation of stem cells in tissues subjected to chronic hyperstimulation by hormones is well explained by the present extension of one of the models. Such hyperplasia of stem cells accompanying the disequilibrium state induced by hyperstimulation is characteristic of precancerous tissues and may be an important causal mechanism of cancer.
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Dedicated to Professor Friedrich Wassermann with admiration and affection on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
Work supported by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
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Laird, A.K. Theoretical analysis of two models of cell differentiation. Z.Zellforsch 64, 32–37 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00339183
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00339183