Estrogen promotes blood-forming stem cell function

January 23, 2014

Scientists have known for years that stem cells in male and female sexual organs are regulated differently by their respective hormones. In a surprising discovery, researchers at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) and Baylor College of Medicine have found that stem cells in the blood-forming system—which is similar in both sexes—also are regulated differently by hormones, with estrogen proving to be an especially prolific promoter of stem cell self-renewal. (Medical Xpress)