Which type of cells protect Haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) from ultraviolet-light-induced DNA damage in aquatic vertebrates?
Haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) require a specific microenvironment to grow and are protected from ultraviolet-light-induced DNA damages by melanocytes. Mutations that lack melanocytes have normal steady-state haem atopoiesis under standard laboratory conditions while melanocytes above the stem cell niche protect HSPCs against ultraviolet- light-induced damage.