Difference Between Progenitor and Precursor Cells

The key difference between progenitor and precursor cells is that the progenitor cells are descendants of stem cells that can differentiate to form one or more types of cells while precursor cells are the undifferentiated cells that have the capacity of differentiating into many types of specialized cells in the body.

Progenitor cells and precursor cells are two types of cells in the body that have the capacity to differentiate into specialized cell types in the body of multicellular organisms. Even though both cell types serve a common function, they are different in many aspects. Precursor cells first differentiate into progenitor cells and then differentiate into other specific cell types of the body. Hence, progenitor cells are a type of precursor cells.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Progenitor Cells
3. What is Precursor Cells
4. Similarities Between Progenitor and Precursor Cells
5. Side by Side Comparison – Progenitor vs Precursor Cells in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What are Progenitor Cells?

Progenitor cells are descendants of stem cells that can differentiate to synthesize one or more types of cells. Their self-renewing capacity is less when with the comparison to that in precursor cells (stem cells). In the context of cell differentiation, progenitor cells are unipotent (differentiate into a particularly specialized cell type) or oligopotent (differentiating into a few different cell types).

Progenitor cells have the potential to undergo many rounds of cell division in the process of producing more cells. Hence, these cells are important in the process of replacement and repair of damaged tissues in the body. Therefore, progenitor cells are present between stem cells and mature functional cells in the body.

Figure 01: Progenitor Cells

In general, progenitor cells reside in the inactive form. Artificial differentiation reagents or cytokines and growth factors activate these cells. Once activated, the progenitor cells differentiate into their specialized cells and also migrate to different targeted locations of the tissue.

What are Precursor Cells?

Precursor cells, referred to as stem cells, are undifferentiated cells present in multicellular organisms. These precursor cells have the potential to differentiate into different types of cells. Depending on cell differentiation, precursor cells could be multipotent, pluripotent and totipotent. Embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells are the two major types of precursor cells.

Embryonic stem cells develop within a 4-5 day old embryo during the blastocyst stage of the embryonic development. Then from the embryoblast, adult organs of the body originate. Adult stem cells are present in bone marrow, blood, brain, liver, skeletal muscles, and the skin.

Figure 02: Precursor Cells

Various tissue injuries and disease conditions induce adult stem cells to differentiate and proliferate. Once they induced, then only these cells can differentiate into specialized cells in a particular tissue. Therefore, they are referred to as tissue-specific stem cells. Apart from embryonic and adult stem cells, fetal stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells are the other types of precursor cells in the body.

What are the Similarities Between Progenitor and Precursor Cells?

• Both progenitor and precursor cells are capable of differentiating into specialized cell types in the body of multicellular organisms.
• Also, both are induced by growth factors and cytokines.

What is the Difference Between Progenitor and Precursor Cells?

Progenitor cells and precursor cells can differentiate into specialized cells in tissues. However, progenitor cells are descendants of stem cells or precursor cells. Hence, they are somewhat differentiated cells. On the other hand, precursor cells are fully undifferentiated. Thus, it is the key difference between progenitor and precursor cells. Furthermore, progenitor cells are unipotent or oligopotent while the precursor cells can be multipotent, pluripotent and totipotent. Hence, it is also a difference between progenitor and precursor cells. Myeloid progenitor cells, lymphoid progenitor cells, neural progenitor cells, blast cells, and pancreatic progenitor cells are the examples of progenitor cells while the blastocysts, umbilical cord blood, and bone marrow are the examples of stem cells.

Below infographic on the difference between progenitor and precursor cells describes these differences comparatively.

Summary – Progenitor vs Precursor Cells

Both progenitor and precursor cells are capable of differentiating into specialized cell types in the body of multicellular organisms. Progenitor cells are unipotent or oligopotent while the precursor cells could be multipotent, pluripotent and totipotent. The key difference between progenitor and precursor cells is that progenitor cells are descendants of stem cells that can differentiate to form one or more types of cells while precursor cells are the undifferentiated cells that have the capacity of differentiating into many types of specialized cells in the body. The growth factors and cytokines induce both cell types. This summarizes the difference between progenitor and precursor cells.

Reference:

1. “Precursor Cell.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Available here  

Image Courtesy:

1.”Hematopoiesis simple”By Mikael Häggström and A. Rad, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia  
2.”Stem cells maturing into blood cells and precursor cells”By Alan Hoofring (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia  

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