Lethal and sublethal effects of programmed cell death pathways on hematopoietic stem cells

In multicellular organisms, the capacity of cells to commit suicide is critical to maintain homeostasis in high turnover tissues. In young adult humans, around 4 million cells are estimated to turn over every second, about 90% of which are of hematopoietic origin [1]. Based on a mathematical analysis that integrates ubiquity, mass, and lifespan of all major cell types in a human body, approximately 2 ×1011 red blood cells, 6×1010 neutrophils, 5×109 B cells, 2×109 T cells, and 1×1011 platelets are predicted to be generated every day, but our remarkably constant blood cell counts indicate that the same number of cells are eliminated by cell death in a coordinated fashion.
Source: Experimental Hematology - Category: Hematology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research