Phage-Based Artificial Niche: The Recent Progress and Future Opportunities in Stem Cell Therapy

Figure 2

Schematic diagram illustrating the HSC niche. The HSC niche consists of endosteal and perivascular niches. There exist niche components like cellular factors (osteoblast, nestin⁺ MSC, and HSC), secreted factors (EPO, SCF, and TPO), ECM (collagen and fibronectin), metabolic signals (O₂), immune cells (macrophages and T cells), and matrix stiffness. All the HSC niche components function in a harmonized way to attain a specific goal. CAR: CXCL12 abundant reticular cell; ECM: extracellular matrix; HSC: hematopoietic stem cell; IL: interleukin; MSC: mesenchymal stem cell; SCF: stromal cell-derived factor; TGF: transforming growth factor; TNFα: tumor necrosis factor alpha; TPO: thrombopoietin; VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor. The images are not fit to scale (adapted and modified from [37, 41, 54]).