Intestinal stem cells and celiac disease

Figure 2 Lineage specification of intestinal stem cells. Intestinal stem cells (ISCs)-Crypt Columnar Cells (CBCs) and Label Retaining Cells (LRCs)-can divide asymmetrically or symmetrically to maintain the stem cell compartment. ISCs give rise to Transit Amplifying (TA) cells which actively proliferate and can further differentiate into enterocytes, tuft cells, enteroendocrine (EE) cells or goblet cells. Wnt signaling maintains the stem-like phenotype of ISCs, while Notch signaling maintains the proliferation of progenitor cells. In the upper crypt region, hedgehog (hh) triggers BMP expression in stromal cells which activates PTEN expression; all these factors inhibit Wnt signaling in the ISC niche.