Entropy, Ergodicity and Stem Cell Multipotency

Populations of mammalian stem cells commonly exhibit considerable cell-cell variability. However, the functional role of this diversity is unclear. Here, we analyze expression fluctuations of the stem cell surface marker Sca1 in mouse hematopoietic progenitor cells using a simple stochastic model an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Ridden, Sonya J, Chang, Hannah H, Zygalakis, Konstantinos C, MacArthur, Ben D
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 16.10.2015
Subjects
Cells (biology)
Information theory
Maximum entropy
Population (statistical)
Statistical inference
Stem cells
Variations
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Summary:Populations of mammalian stem cells commonly exhibit considerable cell-cell variability. However, the functional role of this diversity is unclear. Here, we analyze expression fluctuations of the stem cell surface marker Sca1 in mouse hematopoietic progenitor cells using a simple stochastic model and find that the observed dynamics naturally lie close to a critical state, thereby producing a diverse population that is able to respond rapidly to environmental changes. We propose an information-theoretic interpretation of these results that views cellular multipotency as an instance of maximum entropy statistical inference.
ISSN:2331-8422