Which type of stem cell division increases the stem cell pool?
Stem cell pool expansion occurs through symmetric self-renewing division where mother produces two daughters retaining stem identity and potency. This mode dominates during embryonic development, regeneration after injury and early culture expansion driven by high Wnt, EGF and absence of differentiation cues like BMP. Asymmetric division maintains constant pool size generating one stem and one differentiating daughter, symmetric differentiating division depletes pool generating two differentiated cells, and population asymmetry describes stochastic balancing across population. Balanced control
Ref: Morrison and Kimble, Nature 2006, Symmetric Self-Renewing Division Expands Stem Pool.
