Figure 1
From: Regenerative medicine for the kidney: stem cell prospects & challenges
The definition of a stem cell. (Top) Stem cells are characterized by having the dual capacity to self-renew and produce differentiated offspring upon division. Stem cell progeny can include progenitor cells that have substantial potency to proliferate and produce one or more immature precursors that precede the differentiated state. (Below) There is a continuum of potency that becomes progressively restricted as cells move from a state of ‘stemness’ to that of terminal differentiation.